Rhoda

About Rhoda

Rhoda means “rose,” from Greek rhodon. It combines a floral meaning with a biblical story and one of American television’s most memorable comedy characters. Pronounced ROH-duh, it is a two-syllable name whose familiar sound conceals a different linguistic history from the English flower name Rose.

Greek roots and English history

The Greek form Rhode appears in the New Testament. Rhoda became an English given name in the seventeenth century, giving it a place among biblical names that entered broader English use during that period.

Its meaning belongs to the Greek word for the flower. Rose offers a direct English floral comparison, but Rhoda has its own spelling and route into personal naming. The silent h preserves the appearance of a Greek-derived name without adding another sound.

Rhode is the closely related Greek and Latin biblical form. Rhoda itself is complete in two syllables and does not depend on a longer formal version.

The girl at the gate

In Acts 12, Peter escapes from prison and goes to the house of Mary, the mother of John Mark, where people have gathered to pray. A young woman named Rhoda comes to answer his knock at the gate.

She recognizes Peter’s voice and becomes so excited that she runs back to tell the others without opening the gate. They do not believe her at first, while Peter continues knocking. When they finally open the door, they are astonished to see him.

The brief scene gives Rhoda a vividly human role in the biblical narrative. Her recognition is correct even though the others dismiss her report, and the detail of the unopened gate makes her part especially memorable.

Rhoda Morgenstern on television

Valerie Harper played Rhoda Morgenstern on The Mary Tyler Moore Show before taking the character into the spin-off Rhoda, which ran from 1974 to 1978. The character became a major part of American sitcom culture during the 1970s.

Harper won supporting-performance comedy Emmys for The Mary Tyler Moore Show in 1971, 1972, and 1973. She then won the lead actress comedy Emmy for Rhoda in 1975. Those were four acting awards for the same character across two different series.

The name in the title helped make Rhoda recognizable beyond the biblical setting. Harper also reunited with Mary Tyler Moore in the television film Mary and Rhoda in 2000, extending the association into another generation of viewing.

Pronunciation and shape

Rhoda’s first syllable rhymes with “go,” and the second is a light duh. Its initial r is followed by a long vowel, while the d gives the middle of the name a clear division.

Rhode is a historical relative; Rose and Rosa are useful comparisons through the shared flower meaning. The short full name has little need for further abbreviation. Its combination of a Greek spelling, biblical history, and television familiarity makes its associations unusually specific.

American popularity

Rhoda’s best American rank for girls was number 161 in 1881. Its largest annual count came in 1926, with 547 girls receiving the name. It was therefore established long before the television character appeared.

Use became much less frequent later. There were 41 girls named Rhoda in 2000, 50 in 2010, and 47 in 2025. The recent count places it at number 3,337, preserving a small but continuing American presence.

How popular is Rhoda?

In 2025, Rhoda ranked #3,337 among girls in the United States, with 47 recorded uses. The U.S. birth records first list this spelling for girls in 1880; its largest annual count was 547 in 1926. Rankings count each spelling separately. They describe national use, so local familiarity can differ. The popularity chart shows whether the name has remained common, returned after a quieter period, or risen recently.