The personal name Rodney is a toponymic surname derived from the name of an unidentified place near the Somerset/Wiltshire border. Rodney became a title of the peerage of Great Britain in 1782, as Baron Rodney. Secondarily, it came to be used as a given name in the 18th century, originally in honour of Admiral George Brydges Rodney, 1st Baron Rodney.
Surnames
- Brenda Solzano-Rodney (born 1962), West Indian cricketer
- Caesar Rodney (1728–1784), lawyer and signer of the Declaration of Independence from Delaware
- Caesar A. Rodney (1772–1824), lawyer and U.S. Senator from Delaware
- Caleb Rodney (1767–1840), merchant and Governor of Delaware
- Daniel Rodney (1764–1846), merchant, Governor and U.S. Senator from Delaware
- Fernando Rodney (born 1977), relief pitcher for the Washington Nationals
- George B. Rodney (1803–1883), lawyer and U.S. Representative from Delaware
- George B. Rodney, Jr. (1842–1927) Governor of Alaska and U.S. Army officer
- George Brydges Rodney, 1st Baron Rodney (1718–1792), admiral in the British Royal Navy
- George Rodney, 2nd Baron Rodney (1753–1802)
- George Rodney, 3rd Baron Rodney (1782–1842)
- Sir John Rodney (13??-1400)
- Spencer Rodney, 5th Baron Rodney (1785–1846)
- Thomas Rodney (1744–1811), lawyer and Continental Congressman from Delaware
- Walter Rodney (1942–1980), Guyanese historian and politician
Given name
See also: All pages with titles beginning with Rodney
- Rodney (wrestler) (born 1971), American professional wrestler
- Rodney Adams (born 1994), American football player
- Rodney Alcala (1943–2021), convicted American rapist and serial killer
- Rodney Allison (born 1956), American football coach
- Rodney Anderson (Wyoming politician) (born 1931), American politician
- Rodney Anderson (born 1968), American politician
- Rodney Anderson (American football) (born 1996), American football player
- Rodney Anoaʻi (1966–2000), American professional wrestler better known as Yokozuna and member of Anoaʻi family
- Rodney Ansell (1954–1999), Australian man who inspired the "Crocodile" Dundee films
- Rodney Atkins (born 1969), an American country singer
- Boss Bailey (born 1979), an American football linebacker whose real name is Rodney
- Rodney Bailey (born 1979), an American football player
- Rodney Begnaud (born 1973), American professional wrestler
- Rodney Bewes (1937–2017), English actor
- Rodney Bingenheimer (born 1946), radio disc jockey
- Rod Bonella (1945/46–2000), Australian long-distance runner and horse trainer
- Rod Carew (born 1945), baseball player
- Rodney Carrington (born 1968), comedian and star of Rodney (TV series)
- Rodney Caston (born 1977), American writer
- Rodney Clavell, former South Australian corrections officer and prisoner at Yatala Labour Prison
- Rodney Collin (1909–1956), British writer
- Rodney Craig (born 1945), British fencer
- Rodney Dangerfield (1921–2004), comedian
- Rodney Eastman (born 1967), Canadian actor
- Rodney Fox (born 1940), Australian film maker and shark attack survivor
- Rodney P. Frelinghuysen (born 1946), U.S. Representative from New Jersey
- Rodney A. Hawes, Jr. (born 1939), American business executive and philanthropist.
- Rodney Hawkins (born 1993), American basketball player
- Rodney Howard-Browne (born 1961), South African, American Evangelist
- Rodney Jack (born 1972), St. Vincent football player
- Rodney Jenkins (1944–2024), American equestrian
- Rodney Jerkins (born 1977), American record producer, rapper, and songwriter
- Rodney King (1965–2012), African-American whose beating by the LAPD sparked race riots in Los Angeles, California
- Rodney Linderman (born 1963), better known as Rodney Anonymous, of the Dead Milkmen
- Rodney MacDonald (born 1972), Canadian politician and former Premier of Nova Scotia
- Rod McKuen (1933–2015), American singer, poet
- Rodney Marks (1968–2000), Australian astrophysicist
- Rodney Marsh (footballer) (born 1944), English footballer
- Rod Marsh (1947–2022), Australian cricketer
- Rodney Matthews (born 1945), English artist and illustrator
- Rodney Mazion (born 1971), American football and baseball player
- Rodney Mullen (born 1966), professional skateboarder
- Rodney Price (born 1972), Jamaican artist
- Rodney Reed (born 1967), American death row inmate
- Rodney Robert Porter (1917–1985), English biochemist
- Rodney Rowland (born 1964), American actor
- Rodney Scott (actor) (born 1978), American actor
- Rodney Scott (baseball) (born 1953), American baseball player
- Rodney Scott (pitmaster) (born 1971), American chef and whole-hog barbecue pitmaster
- Rodney Seaborn (1912−2008), Australian psychiatrist and performing arts philanthropist
- Rodney Stuckey (born 1986), American basketball player
- Rodney Vandergert (1935–2009), Sri Lankan diplomat
- Rod Wallace (born 1969), English footballer
- Rodney Wallace (American football) (1949–2013), American football offensive lineman
- Rodney Wallace (fighter) (born 1981), American professional mixed martial arts fighter
- Rodney Wallace (footballer) (born 1988), Costa Rican footballer for New York City FC
- Rodney Wallace (Massachusetts politician) (1823–1903), U.S. Representative from Massachusetts
- Rodney Warnakula (born 1961), Sri Lankan actor
- Rodney Williams (disambiguation), multiple people
Fictional characters
- Rodney, a hamster villager in Animal Crossing: New Leaf and New Horizons
- Rodney Copperbottom, character in the movie Robots
- Rodney McKay, character in science fiction television series Stargate Atlantis
- Rodney Trotter, character in British sitcom Only Fools and Horses
- Rodney J. Squirrel, one of the main characters from Squirrel Boy
- Rodney Ford, character from manga and anime series Element Hunters
- Rodney Stone, the narrator of boxing novel Rodney Stone by Arthur Conan Doyle
- Rodney Wilson, a character in the 2012 American comedy movie Wanderlust
- Rodney, character from Total Drama: Pahkitew Island
- Sir Rodney, character in the American comic strip The Wizard of Id
See also
- Rodney (disambiguation)
- Rondey Robinson (born 1967), American professional basketball player
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References
- Reaney, P. H.; Wilson, R. M. (1995). A Dictionary of English Surnames. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 381. ISBN 0198631464.
- Hanks, Patrick; Hodges, Flavia (1990). A Dictionary of First Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 284. ISBN 0192116517.