Rodney Dangerfield
There are approximately 2 people named Rodney Dangerfield living in the United States today. That makes this name combination very rare, occurring at a rate of about 1 in 171,377,169 Americans.
This estimate combines SSA birth records for the first name Rodney with Census Bureau frequency data for the surname Dangerfield. Below you will find a breakdown of both names, including popularity trends, gender data, and Census demographics where available.
Expected bearers
2
1 in 171,377,169
Named Rodney
195K
Alive today
Named Dangerfield
3.4K
Alive today
US population
343M
Denominator
Estimated living: 195K
Rarity: Common
Gender: Male
Peak year: 1965
Average age: 57
Top Census group: White (65.2%)
Estimated bearers: 3.4K
Rarity: Rare
Census rank: #10,253
Per 100K: 1.00
Top ancestry: White (46.8%)
First name trend
Rodney: popularity over time
Year-by-year SSA birth registrations for the first name Rodney. The peak year was 1965 with 11,132 births. The average person named Rodney today is 57 years old.
Babies born per year
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Rodney
Self-reported race and ethnicity breakdown for people with the first name Rodney, from the 2020 US Census Bureau first-name tables. The largest published group is White at 65.2%.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Rodney described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. These are self-reported numbers, and they describe the population who happened to carry the name Rodney at the time of the Census. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity.
- White65.2% · 112,369
- Black or African American26.2% · 45,099
- Hispanic or Latino3.4% · 5,860
- Two or more races2.8% · 4,790
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.6% · 2,703
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 1,477
Ethnicity
Ancestry of the Dangerfield surname
Self-reported race and ethnicity breakdown for people with the surname Dangerfield, from the 2020 US Census Bureau. The largest group is White at 46.8%.
The bar chart below shows how people with the surname Dangerfield described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. These are self-reported numbers, and they describe the population who happened to carry the surname Dangerfield at the time of the Census. A surname does not determine a person's race or ethnicity.
- White46.8% · 1,399
- Black or African American44.6% · 1,334
- Two or more races4.7% · 142
- Hispanic or Latino3.0% · 89
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 17
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 10
Methodology
How we calculated this
The first name Rodney has a living-bearer frequency of 0.0569% of the US population, based on 194,929 estimated living Americans carrying this first name (from SSA birth records going back to 1880, adjusted for mortality using CDC life tables).
Even though the Census Bureau now publishes first-name tables, we do not use that file as the main first-name input for this estimate. The latest first-name Census snapshot is from 2020, which makes it 6 years old today. Because Census first-name data is only released once every 10 years, SSA birth records plus CDC survival rates give a better current estimate of how many people are likely alive with the name Rodney right now.
The surname Dangerfield appears at a rate of 1.00 per 100,000 residents in the 2020 Census Bureau surname file, which translates to a frequency of 0.0010%.
Multiplying these two independent frequencies against the current US population of 342,754,338 gives an expected count of approximately 2 people with the full name Rodney Dangerfield. This assumes statistical independence between first and last names, which is a simplification but produces reasonable estimates for most combinations.
Related
Other people named Rodney
FAQ
Rodney Dangerfield: questions and answers
How many people are named Rodney Dangerfield?
We estimate approximately 2 people in the United States share the full name Rodney Dangerfield. That works out to about 1 in 171,377,169 Americans. This is calculated by combining the first-name frequency (0.0569%) with the surname frequency (1.00 per 100K) against the current US population.
How rare is the name Rodney Dangerfield?
We classify Rodney Dangerfield as "Very Rare". About 1 in 171,377,169 Americans share this exact first and last name combination.
Is Rodney a male or female name?
Rodney is predominantly male. Out of 248,127 total SSA registrations, 99.5% were male and 0.5% were female. See the full Rodney profile for detailed gender data.
Where does this data come from?
First-name data comes from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files (1880 to 2024). Surname data comes from the 2020 US Census Bureau decennial surname tables. Living-bearer estimates use CDC actuarial life tables to adjust for mortality. Read the full methodology.
How common is the name Rodney Dangerfield?
See how many people are called Rodney Dangerfield on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.