Rowdy

American word name

Rowdy Origin and Meaning

The name Rowdy is a boy's name of American origin.

Rowdy was first famously used as a given name in the television series Rawhide, with the young Clint Eastwood playing Rowdy Yates. More recently, competitive swimmer Rowdy Gaines has been featured in a series of TV commercials, and a new badass baby name is gaining notice.

The word Rowdy originated in the U.S. in the early 19th century, used to describe a rough or lawless backwoodsman. It's one of the distinctly American names.

Popularity of the name Rowdy

• 1198 Nameberry 2025
• 12 Unique 2023

20 Names Similar to Rowdy

These 20 names were selected by our users that were looking for other names like Rowdy.

• Summit
• Blu
• Brave
• Ranger
• Reef
• Rivers
• Navy
• Zeppelin
• Kodiak
• Canyon
• Lake
• Coast
• True
• Riot
• Link
• Brick
• Sunny
• Park
• Hyde
• Knight

Famous People Named Rowdy

• Ryan John "Rowdy" Tellez American baseball player
• Ambrose "Rowdy" Gaines IV American swimmer
• Rowdy Herrington American film director
• Kyle "Rowdy" Busch American NASCAR driver
• "Rowdy" Roddy Piper ring name of Roderick George Toombs, Canadian pro wrestler
• Rowdy little girl seen on Food Network show "The Pioneer Woman"

The name Rowdy in Pop Culture

• Rowdy Burns character in 1990 film Days of Thunder
• Rowdy Yates character in film Rawhide
• Rowdy stuffed Labrador dog on TV's Scrubs
• Rowdy character in the book "The Absolutely True Diary of a Part,Time Indian"