Rolonda
A feminine name of uncertain origin, perhaps a combination of Spanish or Italian elements.
Name Census estimates that about 447 living Americans carry the first name Rolonda. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Rolonda today is around 43 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Rolonda births was 1994 (70 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Rolonda. 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.
People living today
447
~ 1 in 766,788 Americans
Peak year
1994
70 babies that year
Average age
43
years old
2001 SSA rank
#14,932
Tracked since 1961
Census
Rolonda in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 451 people with the first name Rolonda, which placed it at #22,181 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
#22,181
National first-name rank
People counted
451
451 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
81.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Rolonda
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Rolonda is Black at 81.2%. The next largest groups are White (9.5%) and Two or More Races (4.2%). 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 Rolonda 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 Rolonda at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American81.2% · 366
- White9.5% · 43
- Two or more races4.2% · 19
- Hispanic or Latino2.7% · 12
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.4% · 11
Popularity
Rolonda: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Rolonda from the 1960s through to the 2000s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 167 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1990s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Rolonda 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 Rolonda during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Rolondas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 7 states and territories. Georgia, Mississippi, Florida recorded the most babies named Rolonda, while South Carolina, New York, Illinois recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 7 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Rolonda
The name Rolonda is a unique and intriguing one, with a fascinating history that can be traced back to its origins. This melodic moniker is believed to have its roots in the Romance languages, particularly Italian and Spanish. It is thought to be derived from the Latin name "Rolanda," which was a feminine form of the Germanic name "Roland."
In medieval times, the name Roland was popularized through the epic poem "The Song of Roland," which recounted the legendary exploits of a Frankish military leader named Roland during the reign of Charlemagne. This literary work, composed in Old French, played a significant role in disseminating the name across Europe and beyond.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Rolonda can be found in the 14th century, when it was borne by Rolonda de Ricci, a prominent Italian noblewoman and patron of the arts. Her influence and patronage helped to further popularize the name within Renaissance Italy.
As the name spread across different regions and cultures, it underwent various spelling variations, such as Rolande, Rolanda, and Rolonda. Throughout history, several notable individuals have carried this name, leaving their mark on various fields.
One such figure was Rolonda Watts, an American television host and journalist born in 1959. She gained fame as the host of the popular talk show "Rolonda" in the 1990s, which tackled a wide range of social and cultural issues.
Another prominent bearer of the name was Rolonda Goggans, an American basketball player who competed in the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, where she won a gold medal as part of the United States women's basketball team.
In the realm of literature, Rolonda Pierre-Louis is a noteworthy Haitian-American author and educator, known for her works that explore themes of identity, migration, and cultural heritage.
The name Rolonda has also been carried by individuals outside of the Western world. For instance, Rolonda Tarmizi was an Indonesian television presenter and actress who gained popularity in the 1990s for her work on various television programs.
While the name Rolonda may not be as common as some other names, it has a rich and diverse history, with various individuals bearing this name leaving their mark across different eras and cultures.
People
Rolonda + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Rolonda 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
Rolonda: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Rolonda?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 447 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Rolonda 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 766,788 US residents.
Is Rolonda a common name?
We classify Rolonda as "Very Rare". It ranks above 83.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 484 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Rolonda most popular?
The single biggest year for Rolonda was 1994, when 70 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Rolonda is about 43 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Rolonda in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 451 people with the name Rolonda, or 0.15 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #22,181 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 Rolonda 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 Rolonda?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Rolonda leans strongly female. 443 people counted with this name were female (98.0%), compared with 9 male bearers (2.0%). 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 Rolonda?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Rolonda is Black at 81.2%. The next largest groups are White (9.5%) and Two or More Races (4.2%). 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 Rolonda most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Rolonda in the 2020 Census, accounting for 81.2% (366 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 Rolonda in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Rolonda a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Rolonda 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 Rolonda still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Rolonda 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 Rolonda 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 common is the name Rolonda?
For a quick modern take, check how many people have the name Rolonda on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.