Rocelia
A feminine name derived from the Spanish rosalía meaning "garland of roses".
Name Census estimates that about 20 living Americans carry the first name Rocelia. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Rocelia today is around 40 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Rocelia births was 1926 (7 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Rocelia. 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.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Rocelia. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
20
~ 1 in 17,137,717 Americans
Peak year
1926
7 babies that year
Average age
40
years old
2007 SSA rank
#19,910
Tracked since 1926
Census
Rocelia in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 381 people with the first name Rocelia, which placed it at #25,037 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
#25,037
National first-name rank
People counted
381
381 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
84.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Rocelia
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Rocelia is Hispanic at 84.0%. The next largest groups are White (6.6%) and Black (5.0%). 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 Rocelia 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 Rocelia at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino84.0% · 320
- White6.6% · 25
- Black or African American5.0% · 19
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.7% · 14
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 2
- Two or more races0.3% · 1
Popularity
Rocelia: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Rocelia from the 1920s through to the 2000s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 11 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1970s peak, Rocelia remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Rocelia 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 Rocelia during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Rocelia
The given name Rocelia is a relatively rare and obscure name with uncertain origins. It is believed to have derived from the Spanish word "rocio," meaning dew or morning mist. The name may have been inspired by the natural beauty and freshness associated with dew on plants or the misty morning air.
Some linguists suggest that Rocelia could be a feminine variation of the Spanish name Rocelio, which is derived from the Latin word "ros," meaning dew or moisture. This connection to dew or moisture could signify purity, renewal, or fertility in the symbolism of the name.
Historical records of the name Rocelia are scarce, and there are no known significant mentions in ancient texts, religious scriptures, or notable historical documents. The earliest recorded instances of the name appear to be from the late 19th and early 20th centuries, primarily in Spanish-speaking regions.
One of the earliest known individuals with the name Rocelia was Rocelia Díaz de León Lascuráin (1892-1978), a Mexican physician and one of the first female medical doctors in Mexico. She dedicated her career to promoting women's healthcare and advocating for gender equality in the medical profession.
Another notable figure was Rocelia Aranda (1917-2002), a Mexican actress and singer who appeared in several films and television shows during the Golden Age of Mexican cinema. She was known for her versatile performances and her distinctive voice.
In the realm of literature, Rocelia Amador (1925-2017) was a renowned Honduran poet and writer. Her works often explored themes of love, nature, and the experiences of women in Latin American society. She received numerous awards and honors for her contributions to Honduran literature.
Rocelia Galea (1937-2013) was a Maltese artist and sculptor known for her abstract and modernist works. Her sculptures and installations were exhibited in various galleries and museums across Europe, reflecting her unique artistic vision and exploration of form and space.
Finally, Rocelia Zayas (born 1955) is a Cuban-American artist and educator based in Miami, Florida. She is recognized for her mixed media installations and sculptures that often incorporate found objects and explore themes of identity, culture, and the environment.
While the name Rocelia remains relatively uncommon, these individuals have left their mark in various fields, carrying on the legacy of this unique and evocative name.
People
Rocelia + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Rocelia 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
Rocelia: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Rocelia?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 20 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Rocelia 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 17,137,717 US residents.
Is Rocelia a common name?
We classify Rocelia as "Very Rare". It ranks above 39.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 28 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Rocelia most popular?
The single biggest year for Rocelia was 1926, when 7 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Rocelia is about 40 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Rocelia in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 381 people with the name Rocelia, or 0.13 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #25,037 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 Rocelia 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 Rocelia?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Rocelia leans strongly female. 373 people counted with this name were female (98.7%), compared with 5 male bearers (1.3%). 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 Rocelia?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Rocelia is Hispanic at 84.0%. The next largest groups are White (6.6%) and Black (5.0%). 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 Rocelia most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Rocelia in the 2020 Census, accounting for 84.0% (320 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 Rocelia in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Rocelia a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Rocelia 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 Rocelia still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Rocelia 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 Rocelia 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 Rocelia?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people have the name Rocelia at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.