Roann
Feminine name derived from the name Rhoan meaning "from the little stream".
Name Census estimates that about 164 living Americans carry the first name Roann. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Roann today is around 68 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Roann births was 1959 (19 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Roann. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
Key insights
- • The typical person named Roann is about 68 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Roanns were born before 1968.
People living today
164
~ 1 in 2,089,965 Americans
Peak year
1959
19 babies that year
Average age
68
years old
1975 SSA rank
#10,205
Tracked since 1930
Census
Roann in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 287 people with the first name Roann, which placed it at #30,385 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#30,385
National first-name rank
People counted
287
287 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
67.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Roann
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Roann is White at 67.9%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (13.9%) and Black (10.8%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Roann described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Roann at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White67.9% · 195
- Asian and Pacific Islander13.9% · 40
- Black or African American10.8% · 31
- Two or more races3.8% · 11
- Hispanic or Latino2.1% · 6
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.4% · 4
Popularity
Roann: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Roann from the 1930s through to the 1970s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1950s, with 123 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1950s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Roann by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Roann during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Roann
The name Roann has its origins in the Gaelic language, which was spoken in ancient Ireland and Scotland. It is believed to have emerged around the 5th century CE, during the period when Christianity was spreading across the Celtic regions of Europe.
The name Roann is derived from the Gaelic word "ròn," which means "seal" or "sea lion." It likely originated as a nickname or a descriptive name, possibly given to someone who lived near the sea or had a connection to these marine animals.
In ancient Irish and Scottish texts, there are references to individuals bearing the name Roann or its variant spellings, such as Róan, Roan, or Rónan. However, the earliest recorded instance of the name Roann itself is from the 9th century, when it appeared in the Annals of Ulster, a chronicle of medieval Irish history.
One of the earliest known bearers of the name Roann was Roann mac Baithéne (c. 550 – 635 CE), an Irish monk and scribe who lived during the 6th and 7th centuries. He is renowned for his work in transcribing and preserving ancient Irish manuscripts.
Another notable historical figure with the name Roann was Roann of Iona (c. 625 – 686 CE), a Scottish monk and abbot of the monastery on the Isle of Iona. He played a significant role in the spread of Christianity in Scotland and is venerated as a saint in the Catholic Church.
In the 11th century, Roann mac Cináeda (c. 1005 – 1064 CE) was a Scottish nobleman and ruler of the Kingdom of Gowrie. He is mentioned in various chronicles of the time for his involvement in conflicts between Scottish clans.
Moving forward in time, Roann Ó Cléirigh (c. 1590 – 1643 CE) was an Irish historian and chronicler who compiled several important works on Irish genealogy and history, including the Annals of the Four Masters.
Another noteworthy bearer of the name was Roann MacPherson (c. 1760 – 1835 CE), a Scottish soldier who served in the British Army during the Napoleonic Wars. He is remembered for his bravery and leadership in several key battles.
While the name Roann has its roots in the Gaelic language and Celtic cultures, it has been adopted and used in various parts of the world throughout history, with individuals from different backgrounds bearing this name.
People
Roann + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Roann as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with R
Other first names starting with R with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Roann: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Roann?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 164 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Roann going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 2,089,965 US residents.
Is Roann a common name?
We classify Roann as "Very Rare". It ranks above 71.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 238 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Roann most popular?
The single biggest year for Roann was 1959, when 19 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Roann is about 68 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Roann in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 287 people with the name Roann, or 0.10 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #30,385 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Roann in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Roann?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Roann leans strongly female. 285 people counted with this name were female (96.9%), compared with 9 male bearers (3.1%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Roann?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Roann is White at 67.9%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (13.9%) and Black (10.8%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Roann most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Roann in the 2020 Census, accounting for 67.9% (195 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Roann in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Roann a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Roann in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Roann still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Roann in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Roann can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people share the name Roann?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.