Roisin
A feminine given name of Irish origin meaning "little rose".
Name Census estimates that about 905 living Americans carry the first name Roisin. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Roisin today is around 17 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Roisin births was 2023 (54 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Roisin. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Roisin with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
905
~ 1 in 378,734 Americans
Peak year
2023
54 babies that year
Average age
17
years old
2024 SSA rank
#3,624
Tracked since 1966
Census
Roisin in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 849 people with the first name Roisin, which placed it at #14,008 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
#14,008
National first-name rank
People counted
849
849 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
88.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Roisin
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Roisin is White at 88.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.2%) and Hispanic (3.9%). 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 Roisin 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 Roisin at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White88.5% · 751
- Two or more races5.2% · 44
- Hispanic or Latino3.9% · 33
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.6% · 14
- Black or African American0.8% · 7
Popularity
Roisin: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Roisin from the 1960s through to the 2020s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 276 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Roisin remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Roisin 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 Roisin during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Roisins live
The SSA's state-level files cover 6 states and territories. New York, California, Massachusetts recorded the most babies named Roisin, while Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Illinois recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 37 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Roisin
The name Roisin originates from the Irish language and is derived from the Gaelic word "ros", meaning a rose or a rose tree. It has also been spelled as Róisín, Róisíne, Rosheen, or Rosheen. The name is believed to have been first used in Ireland during the Middle Ages, around the 12th or 13th century.
The name Roisin is associated with the Irish Catholic tradition and has been found in several ancient Irish texts and manuscripts. One of the earliest recorded references to the name is in a 16th-century Irish poem, where it is used as a personification of Ireland itself, symbolizing the country's beauty and resilience.
One of the most notable historical figures named Roisin was Roisin Dubh (Róisín Dubh), also known as the "Black Rose," who lived in the late 16th century. She was a celebrated Irish noblewoman and the subject of many traditional Irish songs and poems, which often portrayed her as a symbol of Irish nationalism and resistance against English rule.
Another historical figure with the name Roisin was Roisin Oge Ni Cheallaigh (Róisín Óge Ní Cheallaigh), who lived in the 17th century and was a renowned Irish poet and composer. Her works, which were largely written in the Irish language, celebrated the beauty of nature and the Irish way of life.
In the 18th century, Roisin Bán (Róisín Bán), a famous Irish harper and composer, was known for her skillful playing of the Irish harp and her contributions to the preservation of traditional Irish music.
During the Irish Renaissance of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the name Roisin gained popularity among Irish nationalists and writers. One notable figure from this period was Roisin Ni Mhathuna (Róisín Ní Mhathúna), born in 1895, who was a prominent Irish language activist and educator. She played a significant role in promoting the use and teaching of the Irish language in Ireland.
Throughout history, the name Roisin has been associated with Irish culture, tradition, and nationalism, often representing the beauty, resilience, and spirit of Ireland itself. It continues to be a popular name among Irish families, serving as a link to their heritage and cultural identity.
People
Roisin + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Roisin 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
Roisin: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Roisin?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 905 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Roisin 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 378,734 US residents.
Is Roisin a common name?
We classify Roisin as "Very Rare". It ranks above 89.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 922 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Roisin most popular?
The single biggest year for Roisin was 2023, when 54 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Roisin is about 17 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Roisin in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 849 people with the name Roisin, or 0.28 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #14,008 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 Roisin 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 Roisin?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Roisin appears almost entirely female. Of the 847 people counted with this name, 99.8% were female and only a very small share were male. 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 Roisin?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Roisin is White at 88.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.2%) and Hispanic (3.9%). 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 Roisin most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Roisin in the 2020 Census, accounting for 88.5% (751 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 Roisin in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Roisin a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Roisin 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 Roisin still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Roisin 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 Roisin 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 are called Roisin?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.