Fun Facts About the Name Rock
- More than 2 thousand babies named Rock: U.S. records list 2,681 babies given the name Rock from 1880 through 2025.
What Does the Name Rock Mean?
Rock is an English word name taken from the common noun for a large mass of stone. The noun descends from Middle English rocke and Old English rocc, meaning "rock, stone" - a word later reinforced in form by Old French roche and Medieval Latin rocca, whose deeper origin is uncertain. The literal sense of the given name is therefore simply "rock" or "stone." It is not related to the homonym verb to rock (to sway back and forth), which comes from Old English roccian.
A second, independent line of use exists in the United States, where Rock has served as an anglicized form of the Italian given name Rocco and of Italian surnames such as Rocca, and as a short form of names beginning with Rock-. These are separate origins; the resemblance to the English noun does not mean the names share a root.
Rock Name History & Origins
The noun rock has been in English since the Middle English period. Its use as a personal name belongs to the long English practice of naming people after ordinary words, natural features, and nicknames. As a surname, Rock is found in England and Scotland, where it was typically a topographic name for someone who lived by a large stone or crag.
Rock is used as a first name chiefly in the United States and other English-speaking countries. In modern use it functions both as a word name chosen directly from the noun and as a short form of Rocky, itself used as a pet form of Rock or of Rocco. The best-known American bearer is the actor Rock Hudson (1925 - 1985), a professional name rather than a birth name.
Separately from its use as a personal name, "rock" carries symbolic weight in Christian English: the Psalms call God a rock, and in the Gospel of Matthew the rock is the image for the foundation of the church. This is a figurative use of the noun, not the source of the given name.
How Popular is the Name Rock?
Rock recorded its highest annual U.S. birth count in 1957. Its best rank was #618 in 1957.
U.S. name popularity from 1880-2025, based on SSA data. Rank shows how the name compares with other names - lower numbers mean greater popularity. Births shows how many babies received the name each year.
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #5,566 | 17 | 0.0010% |
| 2024 | #4,998 | 20 | 0.0012% |
| 2023 | #7,200 | 12 | 0.0007% |
| 2022 | #6,083 | 15 | 0.0009% |
| 2021 | #4,747 | 21 | 0.0012% |
| 2020 | #4,825 | 20 | 0.0012% |
| 2019 | #4,448 | 23 | 0.0013% |
| 2018 | #5,727 | 16 | 0.0009% |
| 2017 | #5,476 | 17 | 0.0009% |
| 2016 | #3,505 | 32 | 0.0017% |
| 2015 | #3,667 | 30 | 0.0016% |
| 2014 | #4,670 | 21 | 0.0011% |
| 2013 | #3,394 | 32 | 0.0017% |
| 2012 | #4,648 | 21 | 0.0011% |
| 2011 | #4,623 | 21 | 0.0011% |
| 2010 | #3,694 | 29 | 0.0015% |
| 2009 | #3,618 | 30 | 0.0015% |
| 2008 | #4,236 | 24 | 0.0012% |
| 2007 | #4,468 | 22 | 0.0011% |
| 2006 | #3,867 | 26 | 0.0013% |
| 2005 | #4,302 | 21 | 0.0011% |
| 2004 | #6,440 | 12 | 0.0006% |
| 2003 | #5,816 | 13 | 0.0007% |
| 2002 | #4,297 | 19 | 0.0010% |
| 2001 | #5,943 | 12 | 0.0006% |
| 2000 | #3,731 | 22 | 0.0011% |
| 1999 | #3,810 | 20 | 0.0010% |
| 1998 | #4,600 | 15 | 0.0008% |
| 1997 | #6,510 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 1996 | #6,383 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 1995 | #5,057 | 12 | 0.0006% |
| 1994 | #3,443 | 20 | 0.0010% |
| 1993 | #4,941 | 12 | 0.0006% |
| 1992 | #4,283 | 14 | 0.0007% |
| 1991 | #5,025 | 11 | 0.0005% |
| 1990 | #3,280 | 19 | 0.0009% |
| 1989 | #3,981 | 14 | 0.0007% |
| 1988 | #3,051 | 18 | 0.0009% |
| 1987 | #3,169 | 16 | 0.0009% |
| 1986 | #3,239 | 15 | 0.0008% |
| 1985 | #2,918 | 17 | 0.0009% |
| 1984 | #2,514 | 20 | 0.0011% |
| 1983 | #2,197 | 24 | 0.0013% |
| 1982 | #3,906 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 1981 | #2,556 | 19 | 0.0011% |
| 1980 | #1,950 | 29 | 0.0016% |
| 1979 | #2,220 | 23 | 0.0013% |
| 1978 | #2,358 | 20 | 0.0012% |
| 1977 | #2,439 | 19 | 0.0012% |
| 1976 | #2,795 | 15 | 0.0010% |
| 1975 | #2,430 | 18 | 0.0012% |
| 1974 | #2,346 | 18 | 0.0011% |
| 1973 | #1,770 | 26 | 0.0017% |
| 1972 | #1,711 | 27 | 0.0017% |
| 1971 | #1,627 | 30 | 0.0017% |
| 1970 | #2,198 | 18 | 0.0010% |
| 1969 | #1,634 | 26 | 0.0015% |
| 1968 | #1,386 | 32 | 0.0018% |
| 1967 | #1,359 | 32 | 0.0018% |
| 1966 | #1,363 | 32 | 0.0018% |
| 1965 | #1,314 | 35 | 0.0019% |
| 1964 | #1,079 | 50 | 0.0025% |
| 1963 | #1,047 | 53 | 0.0026% |
| 1962 | #868 | 77 | 0.0037% |
| 1961 | #820 | 87 | 0.0041% |
| 1960 | #763 | 101 | 0.0047% |
| 1959 | #663 | 133 | 0.0062% |
| 1958 | #656 | 138 | 0.0065% |
| 1957 | #618 | 155 | 0.0072% |
| 1956 | #651 | 136 | 0.0064% |
| 1955 | #627 | 141 | 0.0068% |
| 1954 | #792 | 83 | 0.0041% |
| 1953 | #1,012 | 52 | 0.0026% |
| 1952 | #1,293 | 34 | 0.0017% |
| 1951 | #1,823 | 18 | 0.0010% |
| 1950 | #1,800 | 18 | 0.0010% |
| 1949 | #2,314 | 12 | 0.0007% |
| 1948 | #2,582 | 10 | 0.0006% |
| 1947 | #1,839 | 18 | 0.0010% |
| 1946 | #3,929 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1945 | #2,949 | 7 | 0.0005% |
| 1944 | #2,823 | 8 | 0.0006% |
| 1943 | #3,488 | 6 | 0.0004% |
| 1942 | #3,163 | 7 | 0.0005% |
| 1941 | #3,086 | 7 | 0.0006% |
| 1940 | #2,447 | 10 | 0.0009% |
| 1937 | #3,921 | 5 | 0.0005% |
| 1936 | #3,471 | 6 | 0.0006% |
| 1935 | #3,201 | 7 | 0.0007% |
| 1929 | #3,495 | 7 | 0.0007% |
| 1924 | #3,792 | 7 | 0.0006% |
| 1922 | #4,228 | 6 | 0.0006% |
| 1920 | #3,759 | 7 | 0.0007% |
| 1918 | #4,686 | 5 | 0.0005% |
| 1916 | #3,814 | 6 | 0.0007% |
| 1915 | #3,021 | 8 | 0.0009% |
| 1913 | #2,233 | 8 | 0.0016% |
Name popularity over more than a century, based on Social Security Administration data. Gaps in the chart indicate years when the name does not appear in the published records.
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How the Name Rock Shapes Your Personality and Life?
You are a law unto itself. Your tendency is to finish whatever you start. You are tolerant and like to help humanity. You are very active. You are generally warmhearted and gives freely of your time, energy, and sympathetic understanding. You have tolerance and acceptance of the frailties of others. Universal and humanitarian in outlook. This is very compassionate name. You are frank, methodical and believe in law, system and order.
You are always looking for an opportunity to achieve financial and emotional security. You are basically peacemaker. You understand the law of harmony and desire to balance your life with those around you. You may feel incomplete without someone to share your love, ideals, wealth or work. You can be very sensitive and could appear a bit shy and perceptive. You have developed intuition, patience and the ability to nurture others. You can achieve the state of happiness if you are willing to accept your needs in a complimentary relationship and go to create them.
✦ Rock's Deeper Meaning & Tips for Parents Discover Rock's symbolic numbers and practical tips for choosing a name that complements your child's birth date.