The personal name Rodney is a toponymic surname derived from the name of an unidentified place near the Somerset/Wiltshire border.[1] Rodney became a title of the peerage of Great Britain in 1782, as Baron Rodney. Secondarily, it came to be used as a given name in the 18th century, originally in honour of Admiral George Brydges Rodney, 1st Baron Rodney.[2]
- ^ Reaney, P. H.; Wilson, R. M. (1995). A Dictionary of English Surnames. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 381. ISBN 0198631464.
- ^ Hanks, Patrick; Hodges, Flavia (1990). A Dictionary of First Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 284. ISBN 0192116517.