boys' name ★ peaked 2025

Roman

Meaning From Old French Romain, from Latin Rōmānus Gender Boy Rank 2025 #42 Trend ↑ Rising 24%

From Old French Romain, from Latin Rōmānus.

Rank 2025
#42
among boys · ↑10 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
6,185
named Roman · +12% vs 2024
How common
1 in 277
boys born in 2025
Peak year
2025
6,185 babies
All-time total
105,131
#306 all-time among boys
First recorded
1882
in Social Security records

Roman popularity over time

105,131 babies have been named Roman since 1882, 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
123418801900192019401960198020002020BoysGirls
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 – 76 76 8 – #436
1890s – 135 135 14 +78% #412
1900s – 265 265 27 +96% #373
1910s – 1,794 1,794 179 +577% #326
1920s – 2,352 2,352 235 +31% #373
1930s – 1,289 1,289 129 -45% #416
1940s – 1,115 1,115 112 -13% #523
1950s – 1,646 1,646 165 +48% #523
1960s – 1,797 1,797 180 +9% #491
1970s 31 3,346 3,377 338 +88% #408
1980s 35 3,947 3,982 398 +18% #385
1990s 35 6,787 6,822 682 +71% #337
2000s 44 14,730 14,774 1,477 +117% #205
2010s 177 35,105 35,282 3,528 +139% #72
2020s (to 2025) 156 30,269 30,425 5,071 +44% #42

Where Roman 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 6,406 3.75 #39
2027 6,620 3.88 #36
2028 6,808 3.99 #35
2029 6,973 4.08 #33
2030 7,115 4.17 #32

Where Roman is most popular

Boys named Roman per 1,000 boys born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 2.98 per 1,000. Strongest in Hawaii, Rhode Island, and Alaska.

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 Roman 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
Hawaii 107 6.89 +131%
Rhode Island 107 6.56 +120%
Alaska 75 6.30 +111%
Delaware 84 5.54 +86%
Nevada 276 4.84 +62%
South Dakota 87 4.68 +57%
Michigan 929 4.54 +52%
Pennsylvania 1,156 4.35 +46%
North Dakota 74 4.33 +45%
West Virginia 141 4.32 +45%
California 3,867 4.23 +42%
New Mexico 133 4.04 +35%
Montana 71 4.03 +35%
New Hampshire 88 3.96 +33%
Ohio 1,031 3.89 +30%
Arizona 628 3.84 +29%
Utah 365 3.82 +28%
Connecticut 254 3.75 +26%
Oregon 283 3.73 +25%
Colorado 476 3.69 +24%
Missouri 509 3.67 +23%
Washington 583 3.56 +19%
Indiana 571 3.56 +19%
Iowa 244 3.54 +19%
Idaho 144 3.52 +18%
Maine 68 3.50 +17%
Oklahoma 309 3.49 +17%
Louisiana 357 3.49 +17%
Florida 1,619 3.42 +15%
Kansas 232 3.38 +13%
Minnesota 404 3.29 +10%
Kentucky 328 3.27 +10%
Virginia 620 3.27 +9%
Maryland 389 3.26 +9%
Wisconsin 382 3.22 +8%
Tennessee 576 3.19 +7%
North Carolina 803 3.14 +5%
Texas 2,740 3.11 ≈ national
Illinois 784 3.07 ≈ national
Nebraska 132 3.04 ≈ national
New Jersey 605 3.01 ≈ national
Massachusetts 411 2.99 ≈ national
Arkansas 187 2.95 ≈ national
District of Columbia 43 2.91 ≈ national
South Carolina 283 2.74 -8%
New York 1,159 2.68 -10%
Alabama 280 2.56 -14%
Georgia 626 2.47 -17%
Mississippi 111 1.95 -35%
Wyoming 11 1.90 -36%
Vermont 5 0.796 -73%

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 Roman

Roman is a top-50 name for boys in the United States, ranked #42 in 2025 with 6,162 babies given the name. It is currently rising compared with a decade ago.

Since 1882, 105,131 American babies have been named Roman. Its peak came in 2025, when 6,185 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 2020s.

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 Roman stood among all boys' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Roman?

The median living Roman is about 10 years old; half are between 4 and 19. An estimated 97 thousand people named Roman are alive in the United States today.

median 10 020406080100

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

Roman 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 23 #5,523 6,162 #42
2024 27 #5,002 5,502 #52
2023 27 #4,971 4,803 #66
2022 20 #6,170 4,740 #68
2021 31 #4,489 4,571 #74
2020 28 #4,731 4,491 #77
2019 31 #4,521 4,919 #72
2018 18 #6,738 4,390 #86
2017 22 #5,791 4,282 #91
2016 27 #5,102 4,222 #98
2015 25 #5,426 3,889 #102
2014 16 #7,574 3,481 #113
2013 12 #9,502 2,886 #136
2012 10 #11,092 2,577 #159
2011 10 #11,021 2,466 #158
2010 6 #16,554 1,993 #186
2009 6 #16,850 1,837 #206
2008 10 #11,431 1,933 #205
2007 7 #15,149 1,891 #207
2006 8 #13,358 1,819 #209
2005 – – 1,867 #205
2004 8 #12,504 1,398 #238
2003 – – 1,049 #294
2002 – – 1,045 #284
2001 – – 985 #297
2000 5 #17,026 906 #317
1995 5 #15,219 649 #368
1990 7 #11,101 623 #374
1985 7 #9,049 363 #451
1980 – – 258 #535
1975 – – 350 #415
1970 – – 376 #423
1965 – – 184 #563
1960 – – 140 #664
1955 – – 156 #589
1950 – – 148 #556
1945 – – 93 #627
1940 – – 124 #523
1935 – – 106 #561
1930 – – 165 #462
1925 – – 224 #400
1920 – – 248 #379
1915 – – 234 #350
1910 – – 44 #405
1905 – – 31 #379
1900 – – 20 #549
1895 – – 19 #473
1890 – – 10 #662
1885 – – 7 #823
1880 – – – –

Famous people named Roman

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

  1. 1 Roman Polanski Roman Polanski Polish and French filmmaker (born 1933) Contemporary
  2. 2 Roman Reigns Roman Reigns American professional wrestler and actor (born 1985) Contemporary
  3. 3 Roman Abramovich Roman Abramovich Russian business oligarch (born 1966) Contemporary
  4. 4 Roman Coppola Roman Coppola American filmmaker (born 1965) Contemporary
  5. 5 Roman von Ungern-Sternberg Roman von Ungern-Sternberg Russian general and warlord (1886–1921) 19th century
  6. 6 Roman Pavlyuchenko Roman Pavlyuchenko Russian footballer (born 1981) Contemporary
  7. 7 Roman Shukhevych Roman Shukhevych Ukrainian nationalist militant (1907–1950) Contemporary
  8. 8 Roman Weidenfeller Roman Weidenfeller German footballer (born 1980) Contemporary
  9. 9 Roman Jakobson Roman Jakobson Russian linguist (1896–1982) 19th century
  10. 10 Roman Dmowski Roman Dmowski Polish politician (1864–1939) 19th century
  11. 11 Roman Herzog Roman Herzog President of Germany from 1994 to 1999 1934–2017 · Contemporary
  12. 12 Roman the Great Roman the Great Prince of Galicia and Volhynia (1152–1205) 1150–1205 · Medieval
  13. 13 Roman Eremenko Roman Eremenko Finnish footballer (born 1987) Contemporary
  14. 14 Roman Rudenko Roman Rudenko Soviet lawyer (1907–1981) Contemporary
  15. 15 Roman Malinovsky Roman Malinovsky Russian politician (1876–1918) 19th century
  16. 16 Roman Neustädter Roman Neustädter Russian footballer (born 1988) Contemporary
  17. 17 Roman Šebrle Roman Šebrle Czech high jumper and decathlete b. 1974 · Contemporary
  18. 18 Roman Ingarden Roman Ingarden Polish philosopher (1893–1970) 19th century
  19. 19 Roman of Bulgaria Tsar of Bulgaria from 977 to 991 930–997 · Medieval
  20. 20 Roman Opałka Roman Opałka Polish painter (1931–2011) Contemporary

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

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

How old is the average Roman?

The median living Roman is about 10 years old. Half of all living Romans are between 4 and 19 years old.

How many people named Roman are alive today?

An estimated 97 thousand people named Roman are alive in the United States, based on 105,131 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Roman mean?

From Old French Romain, from Latin Rōmānus.

How popular is the name Roman in 2025?

Roman ranked #42 among boys' names in the United States in 2025, with 6,162 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Roman?

105,131 babies have been named Roman in the United States since 1882, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Roman most popular?

Roman peaked in 2025, when 6,185 newborns received the name.

Is Roman a boy or girl name?

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

Is the name Roman rising or falling?

Roman is on the rise, noticeably more popular now than a decade ago.

Will Roman become more popular?

Roman is trending upward. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 7,115 boys named Roman in 2030, which would rank around #32. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Roman?

Well-known people named Roman include Roman Polanski (film director), Roman Reigns (wrestler), Roman Abramovich (businessperson).

Names like Roman

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

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