Roee
A feminine Hebrew name meaning "behold" or "see".
Name Census estimates that about 66 living Americans carry the first name Roee. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Roee today is around 20 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Roee births was 2002 (7 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Roee. 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 Roee. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
66
~ 1 in 5,193,248 Americans
Peak year
2002
7 babies that year
Average age
20
years old
2021 SSA rank
#11,842
Tracked since 1991
Popularity
Roee: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Roee from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 38 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Roee 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 Roee 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 Roee
The name Roee is a Hebrew name that originated in ancient Israel. It is derived from the Hebrew word "ro'eh," which means "shepherd" or "one who sees." The name has its roots in the Biblical era, as shepherding was a common occupation in ancient Israelite society.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Roee appears in the Book of Samuel in the Hebrew Bible. In 1 Samuel 8:16, the prophet Samuel warns the Israelites that if they appoint a king, the king will "take your male and female servants, and the best of your young men and your donkeys, and put them to his work."
In ancient times, the name Roee was often associated with those who had the responsibility of tending flocks and herds. It was a name that carried connotations of leadership, vigilance, and protection.
One of the earliest known individuals to bear the name Roee was Roee ben Elkanah, a notable Israelite from the tribe of Benjamin who lived during the time of the judges, around the 12th century BCE. Another historical figure with the name Roee was Roee ben Shobach, a military commander who served under King David in the 10th century BCE.
In later periods, the name Roee continued to be used, though less frequently. During the Middle Ages, a notable figure named Roee ben Yitzchak was a renowned Jewish scholar and philosopher who lived in Spain in the 11th century CE.
In the modern era, one of the most famous individuals with the name Roee was Roee Rosen, an Israeli artist and filmmaker who was born in 1963 and is known for his provocative and thought-provoking works exploring gender and identity.
Another notable Roee is Roee Zikhin, an Israeli singer and songwriter who was born in 1991 and has achieved significant success in the Israeli music industry, with several hit albums and singles.
Throughout its history, the name Roee has been a testament to the enduring influence of ancient Israelite culture and the Hebrew language. While its popularity has waxed and waned over time, it remains a name with deep historical roots and symbolic significance.
People
Roee + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Roee 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
Roee: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Roee?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 66 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Roee 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 5,193,248 US residents.
Is Roee a common name?
We classify Roee as "Very Rare". It ranks above 58.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 67 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Roee most popular?
The single biggest year for Roee was 2002, when 7 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Roee is about 20 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
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 Roee in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Roee a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Roee 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 Roee still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Roee 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 Roee 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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people share the name Roee?
Want to know how many people have the name Roee? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.