Rocquel
A feminine name likely derived from the French name Rochelle, meaning "little rock".
Name Census estimates that about 106 living Americans carry the first name Rocquel. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Rocquel today is around 40 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Rocquel births was 1971 (13 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Rocquel. 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
106
~ 1 in 3,233,531 Americans
Peak year
1971
13 babies that year
Average age
40
years old
2013 SSA rank
#16,141
Tracked since 1968
Census
Rocquel in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 155 people with the first name Rocquel, which placed it at #44,540 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
#44,540
National first-name rank
People counted
155
155 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
68.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Rocquel
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Rocquel is Black at 68.4%. The next largest groups are White (14.8%) and Hispanic (7.1%). 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 Rocquel 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 Rocquel at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American68.4% · 106
- White14.8% · 23
- Hispanic or Latino7.1% · 11
- Two or more races4.5% · 7
- American Indian and Alaska Native3.2% · 5
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.9% · 3
Popularity
Rocquel: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Rocquel from the 1960s through to the 2010s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 43 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1990s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Rocquel 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 Rocquel during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Rocquels live
Origin
Meaning and history of Rocquel
The name Rocquel is believed to have its origins in the Occitan language, which is a Romance language spoken in southern France, as well as parts of Spain and Italy. The name is thought to have derived from the Occitan word "roqua," meaning "rock" or "cliff." This suggests that the name was initially given to individuals who lived in or near rocky or mountainous regions.
During the Middle Ages, the name Rocquel was relatively common among the peasant population in the Occitan-speaking regions of southern France. It was often associated with individuals who worked in agriculture or lived in rural areas, where rocky terrain was prevalent. The name's connection to the natural landscape and rugged environment likely contributed to its popularity among the common people.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Rocquel can be found in a 12th-century document from the region of Languedoc in southern France. The document mentions a man named Rocquel de Montpellier, who was a farmer and landowner in the area around the city of Montpellier.
Throughout history, there have been a few notable individuals who bore the name Rocquel. One such figure was Rocquel de Comminges, a French nobleman who lived in the 13th century. He was a prominent figure in the region of Comminges, which was located in the foothills of the Pyrenees mountains, and played a significant role in local politics and military affairs.
Another notable bearer of the name was Rocquel d'Arles, a 14th-century poet and troubadour from the city of Arles in Provence. His works, written in the Occitan language, focused on themes of love, nature, and the beauty of the Provençal countryside.
In the 15th century, there was a Rocquel de Béarn, who was a renowned architect and stonemason from the region of Béarn in southwestern France. He was responsible for the construction of several notable buildings and structures, including churches and castles, which showcased his skill in working with stone and masonry.
A more recent historical figure with the name Rocquel was Rocquel Fournier, a 19th-century French explorer and naturalist. He embarked on several expeditions to South America, where he studied the flora and fauna of the region and made significant contributions to the field of natural history.
While the name Rocquel has its roots in the Occitan language and culture, it has also been adopted and used in other parts of the world, particularly in regions with French cultural influences. However, its origins and historical significance can be traced back to the rocky landscapes and rural communities of southern France, where the name first emerged and gained popularity.
People
Rocquel + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Rocquel 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
Rocquel: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Rocquel?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 106 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Rocquel 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 3,233,531 US residents.
Is Rocquel a common name?
We classify Rocquel as "Very Rare". It ranks above 65.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 113 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Rocquel most popular?
The single biggest year for Rocquel was 1971, when 13 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Rocquel 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 Rocquel in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 155 people with the name Rocquel, or 0.05 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #44,540 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 Rocquel 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 Rocquel?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Rocquel leans strongly female. 154 people counted with this name were female (94.5%), compared with 9 male bearers (5.5%). 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 Rocquel?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Rocquel is Black at 68.4%. The next largest groups are White (14.8%) and Hispanic (7.1%). 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 Rocquel most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Rocquel in the 2020 Census, accounting for 68.4% (106 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 Rocquel in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Rocquel a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Rocquel 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 Rocquel still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Rocquel 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 Rocquel 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 the name Rocquel?
See how many Americans are named Rocquel on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.