Rogue
Feminine · “A vagrant”
Rogue is given to both — 659 girls and 447 boys since 1880. See other names given to both
Rogue is an English word with a hard history: it enters the language in the sixteenth century as a term for a vagrant, moves through scoundrel to likeable scoundrel, and only recently arrived at the sense of admirable independence that makes it usable as a name. Its American peak is 2017.
How old is the name Rogue?
Rogue first appears in US birth records in 2001 — 24 years ago. The typical Rogue is a kid of about 8 — this name's wave is very recent. About 700 people named Rogue are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Rogue most popular?
Rogue peaked in 2017, reaching #2903 nationally. Today it ranks #5238, 2,335 places below that high. See the whole 2017 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
Origin, sound and short forms
Our story of Rogue
Word names arrive with whatever the word is carrying at the time, and rogue has been carrying different things in different decades. For the Tudor statute-writers it meant a person with no fixed home and no master, and it was a criminal category. For the eighteenth century it softened into a lovable rascal. For the twentieth it split: a rogue state is a menace and a rogue elephant is dangerous, but going rogue became something a hero does. Two things sit behind the name's arrival in American birth records in the 2010s: the X-Men character Rogue, in the comics from 1981 and in the films from 2000, and the general move toward one-syllable word names with an edge — Ryder, Rebel, Riot, Wilder, Maverick. The name's 2017 peak sits inside that move, and it reads as a statement rather than an inheritance.
Meaningscholars disagree
A vagrant; later a scoundrel, then one who acts alone
The English word appears in the 1560s in statutes about vagrancy, and its origin is genuinely uncertain: derivations from French rogue, arrogant, and from Latin rogare, to beg, have both been proposed without agreement. The modern sense of admirable independence — a rogue agent, a rogue state — is a twentieth-century development and carries opposite valences depending on the phrase.
Pronouncing Rogue
ROHG
One syllable, rhyming with vogue. The silent ue at the end is a French spelling habit that English kept, and it is the main thing people get wrong in writing.
Nicknames for Rogue
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 2001
- Most girls named
- 201757 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #2903reached in 2017
- Change vs 2024
- −22.6%24 in 2025, from 31
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Rogue in other languages
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Texas, Oregon.
Rogues among us
people named Rogue are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 66,969 born in 2025 was named Rogue
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Kellianne test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Rogue's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Kellianne climbed just as high around 1986, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Kellianne's path sketches the road Rogue is walking now.
Rogue sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Rogue beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Rogue in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- One syllable and a clear sound that nobody will mispronounce.
- It is an ordinary English word, so it never has to be spelled out aloud.
- The X-Men character gives it a well-known and sympathetic bearer.
- The word's primary dictionary sense is still a dishonest or unprincipled person.
- The -ue ending is regularly dropped in writing, giving Rog.
- It is a statement name, and a bearer will be asked about it for a lifetime.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Rogue to the vote.
Add it to a family vote or a couple’s swipe deck — the other person gets one card, a simple answer and room to say why. No app, no account for them.
Only the people you invite can see your list.
Already decided on Rogue? Hide it among decoys and let them guess.
What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Rogue
Feminine · #5238 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Rogues are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 700 people named Rogue are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Rogue in 2025?
- Rogue ranks #5238 among US girl names in 2025, with 24 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Rogue?
- About 1 in every 66,969 US girls born in 2025 was named Rogue — 24 in all.
- Will my child share the name Rogue with classmates?
- Rogue will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Rogue
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Irena#5238 · Esma#5238 · Dagny#5238 · Venice#5238 · Lisbeth#5238 · Loralie#5238 · Alania#5238 · Erma#5238
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Rogue? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Rogue and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
Compare side by sideIn a hurry? Just pick a winner — one tap, no sign-up, and you see how everyone else voted.
Weighing a whole shortlist? Add the rest in the builder, or settle it with a bracket.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
No advertising trackers and no data sellinghow we handle your dataindependent and founder-run, about Name Battle