Rowdy
Rowdy was the 941st most popular name for boys in 2025, given to 250 babies. Its best year was 2024, when it ranked 926th with 251 babies. Over the last ten years it has moved up 392 places. More babies were named Rowdy in the 2020s than in any other decade.
Meaning rough, boisterous · English
Say it ROW-dee /ˈraʊdi/
- Rank in 2025
- #941 boys, up 218 places since 2020
- Babies in 2025
- 250boys
- Girls and boys
- Almost always a boy’s name2021–2025
- Peak year
- 2024251 babies
- Total since 1880
- 5,055babies recorded
What does the name Rowdy mean?
Rowdy is the English adjective rowdy, 'loud and disorderly, boisterous', used as a nickname and then as a first name, mainly for boys in the US. Wiktionary suggests the word may come from row 'a noisy quarrel', but its origin is not certain. As a name it carries the everyday sense of the word.
rowdy (English, “loud and disorderly, boisterous”)
How sure is this? Well established. The word's own origin is uncertain.
Pronunciation: The first syllable rhymes with 'cow'.
See also: English names.
Sources for this meaning
- Wiktionary, entry 'rowdy', Wiktionary (Wikimedia Foundation)
- US Social Security Administration, national baby-name data 1880-2025 (usage history only), US Social Security Administration
Rowdy popularity since 1880
A few girls are given the name too: 75 since 2006, 16 in 2025.
| Year | Rank (boys) | Babies (boys) |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #941 | 250 |
| 2020 | #1,159 | 167 |
| 2010 | #1,586 | 100 |
| 2000 | #1,637 | 72 |
| 1990 | #1,807 | 44 |
| 1980 | #1,953 | 29 |
| 1970 | #1,414 | 36 |
| 1960 | #1,574 | 27 |
| 1950 | — | — |
| 1940 | — | — |
| 1930 | — | — |
| 1920 | — | — |
| 1910 | — | — |
| 1900 | — | — |
| 1890 | — | — |
| 1880 | — | — |
How popular is Rowdy, counting every spelling?
Rowdy is the most common spelling of a name family that ranked #905 for boys in 2025 once every spelling is counted together, compared with #941 for Rowdy on its own. Together these spellings went to 250 boys in 2025.
| Spelling | Babies 2025 | Official rank | Babies 2021–2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rowdy | 250 | #941 | 1,117 |
Spellings count together when they sound the same in American English and are used for the same sex; nicknames and forms that sound different (such as Theo and Theodore) are kept apart. How we group spellings.
How many kids will share the name Rowdy?
250 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named Rowdy (0.07 per 1,000 births). For a boy named Rowdy born in 2025, the chance that another child with the same name is in a class of 20 children the same age is under 1 in 50. If every grade liked the name as much as the 2025 babies do, only about one elementary school in 34 (of 430 pupils) would have a child named Rowdy.
Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.
How old are people named Rowdy?
About 4,800 people born in the US named Rowdy are alive today, with a median age of 16; half are between 6 and 30. That makes Rowdy mostly worn by children and young adults.
Babies given the name each year (SSA) times the share of that birth year still alive (SSA life tables). Counts people born in the US only. Method.
Rowdy by state
How common Rowdy was among boys born in each state in 2021–2025. It is notably more common than nationally in Mississippi (8.3×), Oklahoma (5.3×), Arkansas (2.8×), Louisiana (2.6×), Missouri (2.1×). In 19 states fewer than five boys a year got the name, too few for SSA to publish, so those states show as zero.
Names with a similar history
These names rose and fell in step with Rowdy: their share of US boys followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Rowdy, they share its era and feel.
Middle names for Rowdy · Sibling names for Rowdy
Questions about the name Rowdy
What does Rowdy mean?
Rowdy means “rough, boisterous” (English origin). Certainty: well established.
How popular is the name Rowdy?
Rowdy was the 941st most popular name for boys in 2025, given to 250 babies. Its best year was 2024, when it ranked 926th with 251 babies. Over the last ten years it has moved up 392 places. More babies were named Rowdy in the 2020s than in any other decade.
Is Rowdy a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, almost always a boy’s name given the name Rowdy in the US.
Where is Rowdy most popular?
In 2021–2025, Rowdy was most common in Mississippi (1.07 per 1,000 boys), followed by South Dakota and Oklahoma.