boys' name ★ peaked 1953

Roger

Meaning Roger is a masculine given name and a surname Gender Boy Rank 2025 #834 Trend ↓ Falling 11%

Roger is a masculine given name and a surname.

Rank 2025
#834
among boys · ↓85 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
297
named Roger · -13% vs 2024
How common
1 in 5,751
boys born in 2025
Peak year
1953
13,200 babies
All-time total
443,830
#74 all-time among boys
First recorded
1880
in Social Security records

Roger popularity over time

443,830 babies have been named Roger since 1880, according to official Social Security records. Switch measure to see births per year or the yearly rank.

Measure
Births per 1,000 babies of that sex, comparable across eras
2.557.51018801900192019401960198020002020BoysGirls
BoysGirls

By decade. Change compares yearly averages, so the current partial decade is on equal footing. Best rank is the name's best yearly rank within the decade.

Decade Girls Boys Total Per year Change Best rank
1880s – 342 342 34 – #232
1890s – 607 607 61 +77% #199
1900s – 928 928 93 +53% #170
1910s 45 8,408 8,453 845 +811% #116
1920s 175 21,753 21,928 2,193 +159% #64
1930s 212 49,615 49,827 4,983 +127% #28
1940s 315 107,602 107,917 10,792 +117% #22
1950s 282 110,158 110,440 11,044 +2% #27
1960s 311 71,440 71,751 7,175 -35% #47
1970s 205 29,714 29,919 2,992 -58% #61
1980s 130 17,999 18,129 1,813 -39% #120
1990s 13 10,654 10,667 1,067 -41% #211
2000s – 6,360 6,360 636 -40% #369
2010s – 4,475 4,475 448 -30% #510
2020s (to 2025) – 2,087 2,087 348 -22% #685

Where Roger is heading

A five-year projection from the recent trend in births per 1,000 boys (damped so it flattens over time), converted to babies at today's birth totals. The implied rank places that projection in the 2025 field. A projection, not a promise: real trends bend.

Year Projected babies Per 1,000 boys Implied rank
2026 290 0.17 outside top 500
2027 284 0.17 outside top 500
2028 280 0.16 outside top 500
2029 275 0.16 outside top 500
2030 272 0.16 outside top 500

Where Roger is most popular

Boys named Roger per 1,000 boys born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 0.198 per 1,000. Strongest in Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Tennessee.

Vs national average
well below below near national above well above no data

All 50 states and DC, sorted by rate. Counts are boys named Roger born 2021–2025; the per-1,000 rate makes states of different sizes comparable, and the last column shows each state against the national average.

State Boys 2021–2025 Per 1,000 vs national
Wisconsin 38 0.321 +62%
Minnesota 35 0.285 +44%
Tennessee 46 0.255 +29%
Texas 224 0.254 +28%
Virginia 46 0.242 +22%
Michigan 48 0.234 +18%
Indiana 37 0.231 +16%
Florida 108 0.228 +15%
California 206 0.225 +14%
Colorado 29 0.225 +13%
Pennsylvania 58 0.218 +10%
Georgia 53 0.209 +6%
North Carolina 53 0.208 +5%
Washington 33 0.202 ≈ national
Maryland 24 0.201 ≈ national
Mississippi 11 0.194 ≈ national
Ohio 50 0.189 -5%
Missouri 26 0.188 -5%
South Carolina 19 0.184 -7%
Massachusetts 25 0.182 -8%
New York 78 0.180 -9%
New Jersey 36 0.179 -10%
Utah 16 0.168 -15%
Louisiana 17 0.166 -16%
Illinois 41 0.160 -19%
Kentucky 16 0.159 -20%
Oregon 12 0.158 -20%
Oklahoma 11 0.124 -37%
Idaho 5 0.122 -38%
Connecticut 7 0.103 -48%
Alabama 11 0.101 -49%
Nevada 5 0.088 -56%
Arizona 14 0.086 -57%
Alaska – – –
Arkansas – – –
District of Columbia – – –
Delaware – – –
Hawaii – – –
Iowa – – –
Kansas – – –
Maine – – –
Montana – – –
North Dakota – – –
Nebraska – – –
New Hampshire – – –
New Mexico – – –
Rhode Island – – –
South Dakota – – –
Vermont – – –
West Virginia – – –
Wyoming – – –

State counts come from the Social Security Administration's state files, which omit any state-year with fewer than five babies of a name, so small states can undercount slightly.

The story of Roger

Roger is uncommon for boys in the United States, ranked #834 in 2025 with 297 babies given the name. It is currently declining compared with a decade ago.

Since 1880, 443,830 American babies have been named Roger. Its peak came in 1953, when 13,200 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 1950s.

The chart above shows the full history: the popularity view (births per 1,000 babies) is the honest comparison across generations, since total US births have changed enormously since 1880. Switch to the rank view to see where Roger stood among all boys' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Roger?

The median living Roger is about 67 years old; half are between 56 and 75. An estimated 272 thousand people named Roger are alive in the United States today.

median 67 020406080100

Estimated from births per year and Social Security period life tables; an approximation of the living age distribution, by age in years.

Roger year by year

Every year since 2001, and five-year steps back to 1880. Rank is within each sex.

Year Girls Girls rank Boys Boys rank
2025 – – 297 #834
2024 – – 341 #749
2023 – – 344 #760
2022 – – 342 #750
2021 – – 388 #685
2020 – – 375 #685
2019 – – 362 #695
2018 – – 413 #637
2017 – – 417 #627
2016 – – 409 #645
2015 – – 481 #579
2014 – – 477 #584
2013 – – 476 #556
2012 – – 459 #564
2011 – – 477 #536
2010 – – 504 #510
2009 – – 550 #497
2008 – – 598 #462
2007 – – 582 #468
2006 – – 594 #456
2005 – – 644 #417
2004 – – 630 #413
2003 – – 664 #394
2002 – – 676 #386
2001 – – 719 #369
2000 – – 703 #372
1995 – – 1,001 #278
1990 7 #11,100 1,456 #211
1985 14 #5,283 1,706 #160
1980 16 #4,689 2,072 #134
1975 11 #5,422 2,617 #97
1970 40 #2,072 4,583 #61
1965 30 #2,195 6,429 #49
1960 35 #1,946 9,041 #47
1955 24 #2,267 10,979 #37
1950 27 #1,863 12,552 #27
1945 37 #1,329 10,571 #22
1940 27 #1,511 7,598 #26
1935 15 #2,192 5,152 #36
1930 24 #1,651 3,246 #58
1925 13 #2,746 2,099 #90
1920 8 #3,896 1,691 #103
1915 5 #4,838 1,086 #124
1910 – – 176 #171
1905 – – 73 #225
1900 – – 81 #221
1895 – – 69 #207
1890 – – 52 #232
1885 – – 27 #331
1880 – – 25 #348

Famous people named Roger

The most globally famous bearers of the name, ranked by fame across Wikipedia editions (Pantheon project, MIT).

  1. 1 Roger Federer Roger Federer Swiss tennis player (born 1981) Contemporary
  2. 2 Roger Moore Roger Moore English actor (1927–2017) Contemporary
  3. 3 Roger Waters Roger Waters English musician and songwriter (born 1943) Contemporary
  4. 4 Roger Ebert Critic, United States 1942–2013 · Contemporary
  5. 5 Roger Daltrey Roger Daltrey English musician and songwriter (born 1944) Contemporary
  6. 6 Roger Vadim Roger Vadim French filmmaker (1928–2000) Contemporary
  7. 7 Roger Ailes Roger Ailes American TV executive and consultant (1940–2017) Contemporary
  8. 8 Roger Penrose Roger Penrose English mathematician, mathematical physicist (born 1931) Contemporary
  9. 9 Roger Corman Roger Corman American film director and producer (1926–2024) Contemporary
  10. 10 Roger Milla Roger Milla Cameroonian footballer (born 1952) Contemporary
  11. 11 Roger Glover Roger Glover British bassist (born 1945) Contemporary
  12. 12 Roger Scruton Roger Scruton English philosopher (1944–2020) Contemporary
  13. 13 Roger Bacon Roger Bacon English polymath, philosopher and friar (c.1219/20–c.1292) 1220–1292 · Medieval
  14. 14 Roger Whittaker Musician, Kenya b. 1936 · Contemporary
  15. 15 Roger Mortimer, 1st Earl of March Politician, United Kingdom 1287–1330 · Medieval
  16. 16 Roger II of Sicily Roger II of Sicily King of Sicily from 1130 to 1154 1095–1154 · Medieval
  17. 17 Roger Zelazny Roger Zelazny American writer and poet (1937–1995) Contemporary
  18. 18 Roger I of Sicily Roger I of Sicily Grand Count of Sicily from 1071 to 1101 1031–1101 · Medieval
  19. 19 Roger Lemerre Roger Lemerre French football player and manager (born 1941) Contemporary
  20. 20 Roger Joseph Boscovich Roger Joseph Boscovich Croat-Italian physicist and writer (1711–1787) 18th century

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

Quick answers about Roger, drawn from the same Social Security data as the charts above.

How old is the average Roger?

The median living Roger is about 67 years old. Half of all living Rogers are between 56 and 75 years old.

How many people named Roger are alive today?

An estimated 272 thousand people named Roger are alive in the United States, based on 443,830 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Roger mean?

Roger is a masculine given name and a surname.

How popular is the name Roger in 2025?

Roger ranked #834 among boys' names in the United States in 2025, with 297 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Roger?

443,830 babies have been named Roger in the United States since 1880, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Roger most popular?

Roger peaked in 1953, when 13,200 newborns received the name.

Is Roger a boy or girl name?

Roger is overwhelmingly a boy's name: 100% of babies with the name.

Is the name Roger rising or falling?

Roger is declining, less popular now than a decade ago.

Will Roger become more popular?

Roger is trending downward. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 272 boys named Roger in 2030, which would rank outside the top 500. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Roger?

Well-known people named Roger include Roger Federer (tennis player), Roger Moore (actor), Roger Waters (musician).

Names like Roger

Names that sound and feel close to Roger: shared sounds, similar era, similar popularity. Each links to its full history.

Compare Roger with similar names → More names starting with R →