Roya
A feminine name of Persian origin meaning "dream" or "vision".
Name Census estimates that about 1,494 living Americans carry the first name Roya. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Roya today is around 23 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Roya births was 2023 (73 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Roya. 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 Roya with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
1.5K
~ 1 in 229,421 Americans
Peak year
2023
73 babies that year
Average age
23
years old
2024 SSA rank
#2,808
Tracked since 1955
Census
Roya in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 2,892 people with the first name Roya, which placed it at #5,762 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
#5,762
National first-name rank
People counted
2.9K
2,892 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
1.0
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
71.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Roya
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Roya is White at 71.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (12.1%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (11.1%). 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 Roya 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 Roya at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White71.0% · 2,053
- Two or more races12.1% · 350
- Asian and Pacific Islander11.1% · 322
- Black or African American3.5% · 100
- Hispanic or Latino2.1% · 61
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 6
Popularity
Roya: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Roya from the 1950s through to the 2020s, spanning 8 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 392 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Roya remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Roya 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 Roya during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Royas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 7 states and territories. California, New York, Texas recorded the most babies named Roya, while Virginia, Michigan, Illinois recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 62 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Roya
The name Roya is of Persian origin, with its roots dating back to ancient Iran. The name is derived from the Persian word "roy," which means "face" or "countenance." It is believed to have emerged during the Achaemenid Empire, which ruled over Persia from the 6th to 4th century BCE.
In Persian culture, the name Roya was often associated with beauty and radiance. It was believed that the person bearing this name would possess a captivating and luminous presence. The name was frequently given to daughters, with the hope that they would embody the qualities of grace and charm.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Roya can be found in the epic poem "Shahnameh," written by the renowned Persian poet Ferdowsi in the late 10th century CE. In this literary masterpiece, Roya is mentioned as the name of a character, further solidifying its ancient roots in Persian culture.
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Roya. One such individual was Roya Sadat Khamoush (1913-1961), an Iranian writer and poet who played a significant role in the literary circles of her time. Her works explored themes of love, feminism, and social commentary, leaving a lasting impact on Persian literature.
Another prominent figure was Roya Hakakian (born 1966), an Iranian-American writer and poet. She is best known for her memoir "Journey from the Land of No," which chronicled her experiences growing up in post-revolutionary Iran and her eventual emigration to the United States.
In the realm of politics, Roya Mahboob (born 1987) is an Afghan entrepreneur and businesswoman who co-founded the Afghan Citadel Software Company. She has been recognized for her efforts in promoting education and empowering women in the field of technology.
Roya Movafegh (born 1972) is an Iranian actress and filmmaker who has gained recognition for her work in both Iranian and international cinema. Her performances have garnered critical acclaim and have shed light on the experiences of women in contemporary Iranian society.
Lastly, Roya Samadi (born 1981) is an Iranian-American artist and activist known for her powerful multimedia installations. Her work explores themes of identity, displacement, and the complexities of the diasporic experience, resonating with audiences around the world.
People
Roya + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Roya 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
Roya: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Roya?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,494 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Roya 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 229,421 US residents.
Is Roya a common name?
We classify Roya as "Rare". It ranks above 92.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,545 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Roya most popular?
The single biggest year for Roya was 2023, when 73 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Roya is about 23 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Roya in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 2,892 people with the name Roya, or 0.96 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #5,762 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 Roya 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 Roya?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Roya appears almost entirely female. Of the 2,894 people counted with this name, 99.1% 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 Roya?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Roya is White at 71.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (12.1%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (11.1%). 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 Roya most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Roya in the 2020 Census, accounting for 71.0% (2,053 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 Roya in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Roya a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Roya 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 Roya still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Roya 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 Roya 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 Americans are named Roya?
See how many Americans are named Roya on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.