Romel
A name of debated origin meaning either "brave wolf" or "pilgrim to Rome".
Name Census estimates that about 2,364 living Americans carry the first name Romel. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Romel today is around 28 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Romel births was 1991 (67 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Romel. 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 Romel with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
2.4K
~ 1 in 144,989 Americans
Peak year
1991
67 babies that year
Average age
28
years old
2024 SSA rank
#3,370
Tracked since 1953
Census
Romel in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 3,465 people with the first name Romel, which placed it at #5,076 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
#5,076
National first-name rank
People counted
3.5K
3,465 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
1.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
37.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Romel
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Romel is Hispanic at 37.2%. The next largest groups are Black (32.6%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (21.6%). 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 Romel 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 Romel at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino37.2% · 1,290
- Black or African American32.6% · 1,128
- Asian and Pacific Islander21.6% · 747
- White5.6% · 195
- Two or more races2.7% · 93
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 12
Popularity
Romel: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Romel from the 1950s through to the 2020s, spanning 8 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 522 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2000s peak, Romel remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Romel 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 Romel during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Romels live
The SSA's state-level files cover 9 states and territories. California, New York, Texas recorded the most babies named Romel, while North Carolina, Michigan, Virginia recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 101 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Romel
The name Romel is derived from the Latin name Romulus, which has its origins in the founding myth of Rome. According to legend, Romulus and his twin brother Remus were abandoned as infants and raised by a she-wolf. Romulus later went on to establish the city of Rome, and his name became associated with the Roman Empire.
The earliest recorded use of the name Romel can be traced back to the Middle Ages, where it was a variant spelling of Romulus. During this period, the name was often associated with the idea of being a "Roman" or a citizen of the Roman Empire. It was particularly popular in areas that were once part of the Roman Empire, such as Italy, France, and Spain.
One of the earliest known figures to bear the name Romel was Romel of Salerno, a 12th-century Italian philosopher and theologian. He is best known for his work on the philosophy of language and his contributions to the development of scholasticism.
Another notable figure was Romel de Villeneuve, a 13th-century French troubadour and poet. He is remembered for his love songs and his influence on the development of courtly love literature in medieval Europe.
In the 15th century, Romel Mendez was a Spanish explorer and navigator who accompanied Christopher Columbus on his second voyage to the Americas. He is credited with being one of the first Europeans to explore the Caribbean islands and the mainland of Central America.
During the Renaissance period, the name Romel gained popularity among artists and intellectuals who were influenced by classical Roman culture. One such individual was Romel Gentileschi, an Italian painter who was active in the early 17th century. He is best known for his depictions of biblical scenes and his use of dramatic lighting and bold colors.
In the 19th century, Romel Miralda was a Cuban poet and writer who played a significant role in the development of Latin American literature. He is remembered for his lyrical poetry and his exploration of themes such as love, nature, and national identity.
People
Romel + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Romel 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
Romel: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Romel?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 2,364 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Romel 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 144,989 US residents.
Is Romel a common name?
We classify Romel as "Rare". It ranks above 94.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 2,447 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Romel most popular?
The single biggest year for Romel was 1991, when 67 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Romel is about 28 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Romel in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 3,465 people with the name Romel, or 1.15 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #5,076 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 Romel 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 Romel?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Romel leans strongly male. 3,378 people counted with this name were male (97.5%), compared with 88 female bearers (2.5%). 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 Romel?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Romel is Hispanic at 37.2%. The next largest groups are Black (32.6%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (21.6%). 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 Romel most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Romel in the 2020 Census, accounting for 37.2% (1,290 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 Romel in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Romel a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Romel in the SSA data are male. 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 Romel still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Romel 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 Romel 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 have Romel as a first name?
For a quick modern take, check how many people have the name Romel on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.