Head to head · Boys' names
Caspian vs Rodrigo
#491 vs #491 in 2025
Caspian and Rodrigo share the same spot on the 2025 charts (#491). The records cannot split them; sound and story will.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
The tale of the tape
On the charts, Rodrigo leads 3 measures of 6; Caspian leads 1.
Ranks, counts and years are measured in the official US birth record; the classroom and living figures are estimates computed from it. The dot marks the side each measure favours on the charts — more common, not better.
What the records say
146 years of US births, drawn on one scale
Two curves, one scale
Who owned which decade
- 1910s: Caspian —, Rodrigo #3728 — Rodrigo higher
- 1920s: Caspian —, Rodrigo #2337 — Rodrigo higher
- 1930s: Caspian —, Rodrigo #1711 — Rodrigo higher
- 1940s: Caspian —, Rodrigo #1591 — Rodrigo higher
- 1950s: Caspian —, Rodrigo #1236 — Rodrigo higher
- 1960s: Caspian —, Rodrigo #983 — Rodrigo higher
- 1970s: Caspian —, Rodrigo #688 — Rodrigo higher
- 1980s: Caspian —, Rodrigo #617 — Rodrigo higher
- 1990s: Caspian #6178, Rodrigo #447 — Rodrigo higher
- 2000s: Caspian #4958, Rodrigo #365 — Rodrigo higher
- 2010s: Caspian #1704, Rodrigo #468 — Rodrigo higher
- 2020s: Caspian #653, Rodrigo #525 — Rodrigo higher
Rodrigo stood higher in every recorded decade — 12 of 12.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Caspian | Rodrigo |
|---|---|---|
| 1910s | — | #3728 |
| 1920s | — | #2337 |
| 1930s | — | #1711 |
| 1940s | — | #1591 |
| 1950s | — | #1236 |
| 1960s | — | #983 |
| 1970s | — | #688 |
| 1980s | — | #617 |
| 1990s | #6178 | #447 |
| 2000s | #4958 | #365 |
| 2010s | #1704 | #468 |
| 2020s | #653 | #525 |
Average national rank across each decade. A dash means the name sat outside the recorded top of that decade.
The names themselves
Meaning, roots, sound and the people who carried each
Where each name comes from
Caspian
of the Caspian Sea; from the ancient Caspii people
The route is clear — the sea took its name from the Caspii, a people of the Transcaucasus region, and the name came to English through the sea. What the tribal name itself meant in its own language was never recorded, so the trail stops there.
Caspii → Kaspion → Mare Caspium → Caspian
How it traveled
The Caspii were a people known to Greek and Roman geographers, and the great landlocked sea beside them took their name: Kaspion to the Greeks, Mare Caspium in Latin. For centuries afterward Caspian was purely geography — a place on a map, not a person.
Rodrigo
famous ruler, renowned in power
From the Germanic elements hrod, 'fame, glory', and ric, 'power, ruler' — the same pair behind English Roderick.
Hrodric → Rodericus → Roderic → Rodrigo → Ruy
How it traveled
The name came into Spain with the Visigoths as Hrodric, latinized in charters as Rodericus, and settled into Spanish and Portuguese as Rodrigo. Roderic, the last Visigothic king of Hispania, died in battle in 711, and his name stayed in use through the medieval Christian kingdoms; medieval Castilian also clipped it to Ruy, the form used for Ruy Díaz de Vivar, the knight known as El Cid.
Where a reading is contested the note says so — this page does not turn a guess into a fact. The chain is each name's recorded forms, oldest first; the story is its opening, told in full on the name's own page.
Out loud, and in short
Caspian
KASS-pee-un
Stress on the first syllable, exactly as in the name of the sea. Some families say KASS-pyun, running the last two syllables together. Rarely misread, though it is sometimes heard as Casper on a first introduction.
- Cas — The most common short form in everyday use; also spelled Cass, which stands alone as a given name of its own.
- Cass — Informal; used for Cassius and Cassian too, so it may need clarifying among friends.
- Casp — Informal, mostly a playground or teammate shortening.
- Caz — Informal, more common in British and Australian usage than American.
Rodrigo
roh-DREE-goh
In Spanish and Portuguese the r is tapped and the stress falls squarely on the middle syllable. English speakers usually land on ruh-DREE-goh, which is close enough that nobody stumbles.
- Rodri — The standard informal short form in Spanish, used among family and friends.
- Digo — Common informal clipping in Brazilian Portuguese.
- Rigo — Informal short form; also used on its own as a given name.
- Ruy — The medieval Castilian contraction, still a full given name in its own right in Spain and Portugal.
- Also Rod, Roro.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Caspian if you want…
- a name on the way upup 269 places on the charts in five years
Choose Rodrigo if you want…
- a name holding steadyRodrigo is holding its place on the charts
- plenty of nickname options6 recorded short forms — Rodri, Digo and Rigo
Each line is a measured difference between the two names — a rank, a count, a recorded form — never a judgement of either. Save the one that answers your question; it lands on your shortlist.
The trade-offs, name by name
Caspian
Strengths
- The spelling is already familiar to anyone who has seen a world map or read Narnia, so it is usually written correctly the first time.
- It sits beside well-established Cas- names — Casper, Cassius, Cassian — which makes it easy for strangers to hear and repeat.
- Short forms come ready-made: Cas, Cass, Casp, all in real use and none invented for the purpose.
To consider
- It will be mistaken for Casper often enough to notice. The two names are unrelated in origin, but they share four letters and a rhythm, and people fill in what they expect to hear.
- The Narnia link is real and permanent. Many people will place the name in those books immediately, which is charming to some readers and a little bookish for others.
- It is climbing steadily, so a child born now may meet more Caspians as a teenager than as a toddler — still uncommon, but less singular than it is today.
Rodrigo
Strengths
- One spelling across Spanish, Portuguese, Italian and beyond — no variant to correct, and it reads the same on paper in every one of them.
- A documented record stretching back to the Visigothic kings of Hispania, so it has never had to be revived.
- Several ready-made short forms in real use: Rodri, Digo, Rigo, and the medieval Ruy.
To consider
- Outside Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking settings it will often be flattened to Rod, which has a distinctly mid-century sound in English. Worth deciding in advance whether that bothers you.
- The name is firmly identified with Iberian and Latin American heritage. That is a strength for many families and a mismatch for others, particularly alongside a very short Anglo surname.
- Three syllables with the stress in the middle means the full form rarely survives on a playground — expect the shortened version to do most of the daily work.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
With your last name
Say both in full. The notes are facts about letters and sound — a rhyme, a shared initial, the monogram — not a verdict on either name.
Type a last name to hear Caspian and Rodrigo in full.
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Decide together
Nobody names a baby alone
Still torn between Caspian and Rodrigo?
Put both to the vote.
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More head-to-heads
Same measures, different pair. Sixty more are dealt daily in the arena.
Lists these names appear on
- Water names that flow
- Portuguese names in the American record
- Latin American and Caribbean names
- all guides
Where Caspian and Rodrigo each sit in the library — alternatives in the same style, ranked by the same records.
Caspian or Rodrigo — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Caspian or Rodrigo?
- They tie in 2025: Caspian ranked #491 with 614 babies; Rodrigo ranked #491 with 614 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Caspian or Rodrigo?
- Caspian. Over the last five years Caspian moved up 269 places; Rodrigo moved up 85 places.
- Which is the older name, Caspian or Rodrigo?
- Caspian entered the US charts in 1998; Rodrigo entered the US charts in 1918. On the American record, Rodrigo is the older name.
- How many people are named Caspian and Rodrigo?
- About 4,100 people named Caspian are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 26,500 people named Rodrigo are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Caspians or Rodrigos in the classroom?
- Caspian will almost certainly be the only one in school. Rodrigo will almost certainly be the only one in school.
US figures from the Social Security Administration, 1880–2025. Votes are battle voters on this site, not the birth record. Data & methodology
Keep playing
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