Roger

German
"famous warrior"

Roger Origin and Meaning

The name Roger is a boy's name of German origin meaning "famous warrior".

In the World War II era, Roger had nothing but the most positive associations, actually used by military personnel to mean 'Received and understood'--or A-OK, and though it is now on extended furlough, it does have a long and distinguished history. Introduced to England after the Norman Conquest of 1066, Roger soon became very popular there, with nicknames Hodge and Dodge, and had a long run later in the U.S, remaining in the Top 100 for 55 years.

Roger has an impressive list of notable namesakes, both fictional and real. Roger Chillingworth is a major character in Hawthorne's classic The Scarlet Letter, and the name appears in works by Ben Jonson and Anthony Trollope. In sports, there have been Rogers Maris, Clemens, Bannister and Federer, in entertainment actor Roger Moore and Roger Daltry, lead singer of The Who. And of course, many of us remember Roger Ramjet from our childhoods.

On the dark side, there is the Jolly Roger--a pirate's black flag with skull and crossbones--which a little boy might actually love.

# 759 in the US

Roger Rank in US Top 1000

# 517 on Nameberry

Roger Rank in Nameberry Top 1000

Roger Popularity

Famous People Named Roger

  • Roger Meddows Taylor
    drummer and singer for the band Queen
  • Roger Sherman
    American statesman and a Founding Father of the United States
  • Roger Keith "Syd" Barrett
    lead singer of English band Pink Floyd
  • (George) Roger Waters
    bassist of English band Pink Floyd
  • Roger George Moore
    English actor
  • Roger Bruce Chaffee
    American astronaut
  • Roger Joseph Ebert
    American film critic
  • Roger William Corman
    American film director
  • Roger Federer
    Swiss tennis player
  • (William) Roger Clemens
    American baseball pitcher
  • Roger Thomas Staubach
    American NFL football player
  • Roger Allen III
    American NFL football player
  • Roger Eugene Maris
    American baseball player
  • Roger Stokoe Goodell
    American NFL commissioner
  • (James Joseph) Roger McGuinn
    American guitarist for The Byrds
  • Roger Mais
    Jamaican writer
  • Roger David Casement
    Irish revolutionary
  • Roger Harry Daltrey
    lead singer of English band The Who
  • Roger Tory Peterson
    American ornithologist
  • Roger Caesar Marius Bernard de Delgado (Torres Castillo Roberto)
    British actor
  • Roger Livesey
    British actor
  • Roger Aníbal Espinoza Ramírez
    Honduran soccer player

Roger in Pop Culture

  • Dr. Roger Wakefield (Mackenzie)
    dashing young Oxford historian in Diana Gabaldon's "Outlander" books
  • Roger Chillingworth
    character in Nathaniel Hawthorne's "The Scarlet Letter"
  • Roger
    alien on TV's "American Dad"
  • Duke Roger of Conte
    villain in the "Song of the Lioness" series
  • Roger Dearly
    character in Disney's "101 Dalmatians"
  • Roger Hamley
    character in Elizabeth Gaskell's "Wives and Daughters"
  • Roger Parslow
    character in "Northern Lights"
  • Roger Sterling
    character on TV's "Mad Men"
  • Roger Murtaugh Sr. and Roger "RJ" Murtaugh Jr.
    characters in "Lethal Weapon"
  • Roger
    character in William Golding's "Lord of the Flies"
  • Roger
    character in G. A. Henty's "Both Sides the Border"
  • Roger Doofenshmirtz
    character on animated series "Phineas and Ferb"
  • Roger Klotz
    character on animated series "Doug"
  • Roger Evans
    character on TV's "Sister, Sister"
  • Roger Callaway
    character in movie "It Takes Two"
  • Roger
    character on TV's "Frasier"
  • Roger
    character in the "Gone" series by Michael Grant
  • Roger Hawkshaw
    main character in G. A. Henty's "By Right of Conquest"
  • Roger Davis
    one of the main characters from "Rent"
  • Roger Malone
    character in J.K. Rowling's "The Original Forty"
  • Roger
    robot in "Lego Star Wars: The Freemaker Adventures"
  • Roger Greenberg
    lead character in film "Greenberg"