The former villages, now urban districts, are from north to south: Weiskirchen, Hainhausen, Jügesheim, Dudenhofen and Nieder-Roden. They all lie by a small creek, the "Rodau", flowing through the city from south to north. Rodgau got its name from this creek. The ending "-gau" means "area" or "district". "Rod-" is a hint to the former landscape. The German verb "roden" means "cutting down trees to cultivate land". "Rod-" is also part of the name of Nieder-"Rod"en.