Roderick
 Romantic painting of Visigothic king Roderic (Marcelino de Unceta) | |
| Gender | Male |
|---|---|
| Name day | March 13 |
| Origin | |
| Word/name | Germanic |
| Meaning | "glory" + "king, ruler" |
| Region of origin | Northern Europe; Visigothic kingdom |
| Other names | |
| Variant form(s) | Hrœrekr, Rœrekr, Rorik, Rurik (etc.); Roderic, Roderich, Ruodrich (etc.); Chrodericus, Hrodericus, Rodericus (etc.); Rodrigo |
Roderick (from Proto-Germanic *Hrōþirīks, from hrōþ "glory" + rīks "ruler") is a Germanic name, recorded from the 8th century onward.[1] Its Old High German forms are Hrodric, Chrodericus, Hroderich, Roderich, Ruodrich (etc.); in Old English language it appears as Hrēðrīc or Hroðrīc, and in Old Norse as Hrøríkʀ (Old East Norse Rørik, Old West Norse as Hrœrekr, Rœrekr).
In the 12th-century Primary chronicle, the name is reflected as Рюрикъ, i.e. Rurik. In Spanish and Portuguese, it was rendered as Rodrigo, or in its short form, Ruy/Rui, and in Galician, the name is Roi. In Arabic, the form Ludhriq (لذريق), used to refer Roderic (Ulfilan Gothic *Hroþareiks), the last king of the Visigoths. Saint Roderick (d. 857) is one of the Martyrs of Córdoba.
The modern English name does not continue the Anglo-Saxon form but was re-introduced from the continent by the Normans. The Middle English given name had also virtually disappeared by the 19th century, even though it had survived as a surname. The given name was re-popularised by Sir Walter Scott's poem The Vision of Don Roderick (1811), where Roderick refers to the Visigothic king. The modern English name is sometimes abbreviated to Roddy.
Roderick is also an Anglicisation of several unrelated names. As a surname and given name it is an Anglicised form of the Welsh Rhydderch. The given name Roderick is also an Anglicised form of the Gaelic personal name Ruaidhrí/Ruairí/Ruairi/Ruairidh/Ruaraidh.
Medieval period
- Hreðric, king Hroðgar's son in Beowulf, who has various counterparts named Rørik and Hrœrekr in Norse mythology
- Hrœrekr Ringslinger (Rørik Slængeborræ or Rørik Slyngebond), mythological king in what is today Denmark
- Roderic, 8th-century king of the Visigoths
- Rorik of Dorestad, chieftain who ruled Frisia, in the 9th century
- Rurik, 9th-century founder of the Kievan Rus
- Saint Roderick (d. 857), one of the Martyrs of Córdoba.
- Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar (c. 1043 – 1099), better known as El Cid, or simply Rodrigo, was a Castilian nobleman and military leader in medieval Spain.
- S Uciredor ("Rodericus" spelled backwards), Medieval composer
Modern given name
See also: All pages with titles beginning with Roderick
- Roderick R. Allen (1894–1970), Major General in the United States Army
- Rod Brind'Amour (born 1970), Canadian ice hockey player
- Roderick "Rory" Bremner, British impressionist
- Roderick Chadwick (born 1978), England classical pianist
- Roderick Chisholm (1916–1999), American philosopher
- Roderick Coyne (born 1945), English artist, sculptor
- Roderick Firth (1917–1987), Professor of Philosophy at Harvard University
- Roderick Hunt, British children's author
- Roderick Lewis (born 1971), American football player
- Roderick Long (born 1964), professor of philosophy at Auburn University
- Roderick MacKinnon (born 1956), professor of Molecular Neurobiology and Biophysics at Rockefeller University
- Roderick Murchison (1792–1871), Scottish geologist who first described and investigated the Silurian system
- Roderick Spode, recurring fictional character from the Jeeves novels of British comic writer P. G. Wodehouse
- Roderick Stewart (born 1945) Singer/songwriter
- Roderick Strong (born 1983), American professional wrestler
- Roderick Toombs or Roddy Piper (born 1954), Canadian retired professional wrestler and film actor
- Roderick Watson (born 1943), Scottish poet, born in Aberdeen
- Roderick Williams (born 1965), English operatic baritone
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Modern surname
- Aaron Roderick (born 1972), wide receivers coach for the University of Utah Utes football team
- Brande Roderick (born 1974), American model and actress
- Buckley Roderick (1862–1908), Welsh solicitor, international rugby union forward and a Vice-Consular for Spain
- Caerwyn Roderick (born 1927), British Labour Party politician
- Casey Roderick (born 1992), American stock car racing driver
- David Roderick (born 1970), award-winning American poet, Assistant Professor at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro
- George H. Roderick (1880–1963), official in the United States Department of the Army during the Eisenhower Administration
- Jane Roderick, British slalom canoeist who competed in the early 1980s
- John Roderick (American football), former professional American football wide receiver
- John Roderick (correspondent) (1914–2008), American journalist, foreign correspondent for the Associated Press news service
- John Roderick (musician), American musician and writer
- Judy Roderick (1942–1992), American blues singer and songwriter
- Libby Roderick, American singer/songwriter, recording artist, poet, activist, and teacher
- Matt Von Roderick (born 1974), American trumpeter, singer and recording artist
- Myron Roderick (1934–2011), American wrestler
- Philip Roderick, British Anglican priest, founder of the Quiet Garden Movement
- Richard Roderick (died 1756), British editor and poet
- Rick Roderick (1949–2002), American professor of philosophy
- Scott Roderick (born 1960), American entrepreneur President of Rock-N-Roll Warehouse
If an internal link intending to refer to a specific person led you to this page, you may wish to change that link by adding the person's given name(s) to the link.
Other
- Roderick, favorite horse of Nathan Bedford Forrest, Confederate general in the American Civil War
- Spencer Buford House, historic house listed on the NRHP in Williamson County, Tennessee, known also as Roderick for Nathan Bedford Forrest's horse
- Roderick (novel), 1980 science fiction novel by John Sladek
- 16194 Roderick (2000 AJ231), main-belt asteroid