boy's name
Rocco
ROK-oh
- Origin Germanic
- Gender Boy
- Syllables 2
- Letters 5
- Popularity Top 1000 (US)
- Births on record 40,700
the United States
#459
2025 births
Rocco is a boy's name of Germanic origin, generally read from a root meaning rest or repose. It reached Italian through Saint Roch, the fourteenth-century pilgrim invoked against plague, and it is far more Italian in feel than in origin.
- Rocco is a name of Germanic origin.
- Peaked in 2009, when 785 babies were given the name.
- Its usage has held steady over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 4,883 babies in the United States is given this name.
- First appears in US birth records in 1891.
- 2 syllables, with the stress on syllable 1.
Rocco over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1890s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1890s | 80 |
| 1900s | 203 |
| 1910s | 2,157 |
| 1920s | 3,316 |
| 1930s | 1,755 |
| 1940s | 1,523 |
| 1950s | 2,200 |
| 1960s | 1,785 |
| 1970s | 1,415 |
| 1980s | 1,373 |
| 1990s | 1,166 |
| 2000s | 4,411 |
| 2010s | 6,657 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 3,643 |
What Rocco means
Rocco is usually derived from a Germanic element read as rest, though the reading is not certain. Whatever its root, the name's weight in Italian comes from the saint rather than from the word.
Where Rocco comes from
Rocco is the Italian form of Roch or Rochus, a name of Germanic origin generally traced to hrok, rest or repose, though some authorities propose a root meaning to shout instead. Saint Roch, born in Montpellier around 1295, contracted plague while nursing the sick and was said to have been fed by a dog in the forest — which is why he is depicted with a dog and a sore on his thigh, and why he became one of the most widely invoked saints in plague-stricken Europe. Southern Italy adopted the name heavily, and Italian emigration carried it to America, where it appears in our records from 1891.
Rocco in use
Rocco charts in five of the seven countries we track and peaked in 2009.
How popular is Rocco?
In 2025, Rocco was given to 679 babies in the United States, ranking #459 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Where Rocco is used
US figures omit any name given to fewer than five babies in a year, so the rarest names are absent from the source rather than absent from use. Data & sources.
Names that peaked alongside Rocco
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Rocco also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Rocco over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
1 nickname for Rocco
Each one is a name in its own right — the figure underneath is how it is doing today, so you can see which short forms are rising and which have faded.
Rocco in other languages
The same name as it is spelled elsewhere — not shortenings, and not different names that merely sound alike. Each one has its own record here.
- Polish
- Roch
Sibling names for Rocco
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Rocco — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Rocco
What does the name Rocco mean?
Generally rest or repose, from a Germanic root — though the derivation is not certain.
Is Rocco an Italian name?
It is thoroughly Italian in use, through Saint Roch, but its root is Germanic rather than Latin.
Why is Saint Roch shown with a dog?
He was said to have caught plague nursing the sick and been fed in the forest by a dog.
How popular is the name Rocco?
In 2025, Rocco was given to 679 babies in the United States, ranking #459 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Is Rocco a girl's or a boy's name?
Rocco is given almost entirely to boys in birth records.
How many syllables are in Rocco?
Rocco has 2 syllables.
When was Rocco most popular?
Rocco peaked in 2009, when 785 babies were given the name. Its usage has held steady over the past decade.
What are the nicknames for Rocco?
Rocco is usually shortened to Rocky.
Is Rocco a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Rocco currently ranks #242 in the United States. Its usage has held steady over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.