Romero
A Spanish name derived from the word "romero", meaning "rosemary plant".
Name Census estimates that about 1,701 living Americans carry the first name Romero. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Romero today is around 30 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Romero births was 2019 (46 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Romero. 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 Romero with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
1.7K
~ 1 in 201,502 Americans
Peak year
2019
46 babies that year
Average age
30
years old
2024 SSA rank
#2,897
Tracked since 1937
Census
Romero in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 2,426 people with the first name Romero, which placed it at #6,571 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
#6,571
National first-name rank
People counted
2.4K
2,426 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.8
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
60.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Romero
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Romero is Hispanic at 60.9%. The next largest groups are Black (26.5%) and White (5.7%). 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 Romero 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 Romero at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino60.9% · 1,477
- Black or African American26.5% · 643
- White5.7% · 138
- Two or more races2.8% · 68
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.8% · 67
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.4% · 33
Popularity
Romero: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Romero from the 1930s through to the 2020s, spanning 10 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 329 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Romero remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Romero 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 Romero during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Romeros live
The SSA's state-level files cover 7 states and territories. California, Texas, Ohio recorded the most babies named Romero, while Florida, Michigan, New York recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 36 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Romero
The name Romero has its origins in the Spanish language, deriving from the word "romero," which means "rosemary" or "pilgrim to Rome." The name's roots can be traced back to the medieval era, particularly in Spain and other Spanish-speaking regions.
During the Middle Ages, the rosemary plant held significant symbolic meaning in various cultures. It was often associated with remembrance, loyalty, and fidelity. As a result, the name Romero became popular among those who embarked on pilgrimages to Rome, a sacred destination for Christians.
The earliest known historical references to the name Romero can be found in medieval Spanish literature and records. One prominent example is the 13th-century Spanish epic poem "El Cantar de Mio Cid," which features a character named Romero.
Over the centuries, several notable individuals have borne the name Romero. One of the earliest was Romero de Ledesma (c. 1380 - c. 1450), a Spanish poet and writer who served as a court poet during the reign of King Juan II of Castile.
Another notable figure was Fray Romero de Las Casas (1570 - 1647), a Spanish friar and missionary who accompanied the conquistadors to the Americas and advocated for the rights of indigenous peoples.
In the realm of art, Romero Ressendi (1499 - 1579) was a renowned Spanish Renaissance sculptor and woodcarver who contributed significantly to the artistic heritage of Spain.
During the 19th century, Romero Ortiz (1837 - 1903) gained prominence as a Mexican politician and military leader, serving as the governor of Jalisco and playing a key role in the Reform War.
More recently, Romero Britto (born 1963) is a celebrated Brazilian Neo-pop artist known for his vibrant and colorful artworks inspired by cubism and pop art.
These are just a few examples of the many notable individuals throughout history who have carried the name Romero, a name deeply rooted in Spanish culture and language, with connections to religious pilgrimages and the symbolic significance of the rosemary plant.
People
Romero + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Romero 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
Romero: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Romero?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,701 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Romero 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 201,502 US residents.
Is Romero a common name?
We classify Romero as "Rare". It ranks above 93% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,802 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Romero most popular?
The single biggest year for Romero was 2019, when 46 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Romero is about 30 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Romero in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 2,426 people with the name Romero, or 0.80 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #6,571 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 Romero 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 Romero?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Romero leans strongly male. 2,332 people counted with this name were male (96.0%), compared with 98 female bearers (4.0%). 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 Romero?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Romero is Hispanic at 60.9%. The next largest groups are Black (26.5%) and White (5.7%). 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 Romero most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Romero in the 2020 Census, accounting for 60.9% (1,477 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 Romero in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Romero a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Romero 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 Romero still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Romero 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 Romero 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 Romero?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.