Rodney (name)
Rodney is a toponymic surname derived from the ancient name of the islands off the coast of Sweden previously called Roden, now Roslagen, near Stockholm. In 1138, Walter De Rodeney accompanied Empress Maude from Normandy in her bid for the English crown during the period known as The Anarchy. Walter was awarded the manor of Backwell near Somersetshire for his support against King Stephen. The De Rodeney surname, literally "of the Roden Islands" was shortened to Rodney in the 1300s.
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, West Indian cricketer
- Caesar Rodney, lawyer and signer of the Declaration of Independence from Delaware
- Caesar A. Rodney, lawyer and U.S. Senator from Delaware
- Caleb Rodney, merchant and Governor of Delaware
- Daniel Rodney, merchant, Governor and U.S. Senator from Delaware
- Fernando Rodney, relief pitcher for the Washington Nationals
- George B. Rodney, lawyer and U.S. Representative from Delaware
- George B. Rodney, Jr. Governor of Alaska and U.S. Army officer
- George Brydges Rodney, 1st Baron Rodney, admiral in the British Royal Navy
- George Rodney, 2nd Baron Rodney
- George Rodney, 3rd Baron Rodney
- Sir John Rodney
- Spencer Rodney, 5th Baron Rodney
- Thomas Rodney, lawyer and Continental Congressman from Delaware
- Walter Rodney, Guyanese historian and politician
Given name
See also:- Rodney (wrestler), American professional wrestler
- Rodney Adams, American football player
- Rodney Alcala, convicted American rapist and serial killer
- Rodney Allison, American football coach
- Rodney Anderson (Wyoming politician), American politician
- Rodney Anderson, American politician
- Rodney Anderson (American football), American football player
- Rodney Anoaʻi, American professional wrestler better known as Yokozuna and member of Anoaʻi family
- Rodney Ansell, Australian man who inspired the "Crocodile" Dundee films
- Rodney Atkins, an American country singer
- Boss Bailey, an American football linebacker whose real name is Rodney
- Rodney Bailey, an American football player
- Rodney Begnaud, American professional wrestler
- Rodney Bewes, English actor
- Rodney Bingenheimer, radio disc jockey
- Rod Bonella, Australian long-distance runner and horse trainer
- Rod Carew, baseball player
- Rodney Carrington, comedian and star of Rodney
- Rodney Caston, American writer
- Rodney Charles, Trinidadian politician
- Rodney Clavell, former South Australian corrections officer and prisoner at Yatala Labour Prison
- Rodney Collin, British writer
- Rodney Craig, British fencer
- Rodney Dangerfield, comedian
- Rodney Dunham, American football player
- Rodney Eastman, Canadian actor
- Rodney Fox, Australian film maker and shark attack survivor
- Rodney P. Frelinghuysen, U.S. Representative from New Jersey
- Rodney A. Hawes, Jr., American business executive and philanthropist.
- Rodney Hawkins, American basketball player
- Rodney Howard-Browne, South African, American Evangelist
- Rodney Jack, St. Vincent football player
- Rodney Jenkins, American equestrian
- Rodney Jerkins, American record producer, rapper, and songwriter
- Rodney Kageyama, American actor
- Rodney King, African-American whose beating by the LAPD sparked race riots in Los Angeles, California
- Rodney Linderman, better known as Rodney Anonymous, of the Dead Milkmen
- Rodney MacDonald, Canadian politician and former Premier of Nova Scotia
- Rod McKuen, American singer, poet
- Rodney Marks, Australian astrophysicist
- Rodney Marsh (footballer), English footballer
- Rod Marsh, Australian cricketer
- Rodney Matthews, English artist and illustrator
- Rodney Mazion, American football and baseball player
- Rodney Mullen, professional skateboarder
- Rodney Price, Jamaican artist
- Rodney Reed, American death row inmate
- Rodney Robert Porter, English biochemist
- Rodney Rowland, American actor
- Rodney Scott (actor), American actor
- Rodney Scott (baseball), American baseball player
- Rodney Scott (pitmaster), American chef and whole hog barbecue pitmaster
- Rodney Seaborn, Australian psychiatrist and performing arts philanthropist
- Roots Manuva, English rapper, real name Rodney Hylton Smith
- Rodney Stuckey, American basketball player
- Rodney Vandergert, Sri Lankan diplomat
- Rod Wallace, English footballer
- Rodney Wallace (American football), American football offensive lineman
- Rodney Wallace (fighter), American professional mixed martial arts fighter
- Rodney Wallace (footballer), Costa Rican footballer for New York City FC
- Rodney Wallace (Massachusetts politician), U.S. Representative from Massachusetts
- Rodney Warnakula, 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''