Roney
A masculine name of English origin meaning "little rower".
Name Census estimates that about 632 living Americans carry the first name Roney. It is a predominantly male name (99.4% of registrations). The average person named Roney today is around 55 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Roney births was 1950 (28 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Roney. 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
632
~ 1 in 542,333 Americans
Peak year
1950
28 babies that year
Average age
55
years old
2022 SSA rank
#5,638
Tracked since 1893
Census
Roney in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 926 people with the first name Roney, which placed it at #13,143 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
#13,143
National first-name rank
People counted
926
926 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
32.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Roney
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Roney is White at 32.9%. The next largest groups are Black (28.6%) and Hispanic (25.2%). 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 Roney 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 Roney at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White32.9% · 305
- Black or African American28.6% · 265
- Hispanic or Latino25.2% · 233
- Asian and Pacific Islander10.2% · 94
- Two or more races2.3% · 21
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 8
Gender
Gender distribution for Roney
Out of the 888 babies given the name Roney since 1880, 99.4% were registered as male. The name sits firmly on the male side of the spectrum, with only a handful of female registrations across the entire dataset.
Roney as a male name
- Ranked #10,629 in 2022
- 7 male births in 2022
- Peak: 1950 (28 births)
Roney as a female name
- Ranked #5,638 in 1925
- 5 female births in 1925
- Peak: 1925 (5 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Roney leans strongly male. 873 people counted with this name were male (93.6%), compared with 60 female bearers (6.4%).
Popularity
Roney: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Roney from the 1890s through to the 2020s, spanning 13 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1950s, with 191 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
Roney 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 Roney during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Roneys live
Origin
Meaning and history of Roney
The name Roney has its roots in the French language and culture, originating as a surname derived from the Old French word "roin," meaning "bramble" or "brier bush." This connection to the natural world suggests that the earliest bearers of this name may have lived near or worked with thorny plants.
In the Middle Ages, Roney emerged as a given name, particularly in regions of France where the surname was prevalent. Its transition from a surname to a first name was a common occurrence during this period, as families sought to distinguish themselves by adopting surnames based on occupations, locations, or personal characteristics.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Roney can be found in the 13th century Cartulary of Notre-Dame de Paris, a collection of medieval records from the cathedral. This document mentions a certain Roney de Chambly, a landowner from the village of Chambly, near Paris.
Throughout the centuries, several notable individuals have borne the name Roney. In the 16th century, Roney Desloges (1532-1598) was a French poet and playwright known for his works celebrating the natural beauty of his native Normandy. During the Age of Exploration, Roney Laveaux (1562-1631) was a French navigator and explorer who accompanied Samuel de Champlain on his expeditions to the New World.
In the realm of art, Roney Delaroche (1797-1856) was a celebrated French painter of the Romantic era, renowned for his historical and religious works. His painting "The Execution of Lady Jane Grey" is considered a masterpiece of the Romantic style.
Turning to the world of literature, Roney Loiseau (1874-1949) was a French novelist and poet who wrote extensively about the rural life and customs of his native Brittany region. His novel "Les Pardons de Bretagne" (The Pardons of Brittany) is a classic work that captures the essence of Breton culture.
Finally, in the 20th century, Roney Craver (1925-2003) was an American artist and sculptor known for his abstract works in metal and stone. His sculptures can be found in public spaces and galleries throughout the United States.
These examples illustrate the diverse backgrounds and contributions of individuals who have borne the name Roney throughout history, spanning various fields and time periods.
People
Roney + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Roney 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
Roney: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Roney?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 632 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Roney 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 542,333 US residents.
Is Roney a common name?
We classify Roney as "Very Rare". It ranks above 86.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 888 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Roney most popular?
The single biggest year for Roney was 1950, when 28 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Roney is about 55 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Roney in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 926 people with the name Roney, or 0.31 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #13,143 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 Roney 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 Roney?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Roney leans strongly male. 873 people counted with this name were male (93.6%), compared with 60 female bearers (6.4%). 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 Roney?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Roney is White at 32.9%. The next largest groups are Black (28.6%) and Hispanic (25.2%). 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 Roney most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Roney in the 2020 Census, accounting for 32.9% (305 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 Roney in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Roney a male name?
Yes, 99.4% of people registered as Roney 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 Roney still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Roney 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 Roney 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 named Roney?
Find out how many Americans are named Roney on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.