Rojelio
A Spanish masculine name of uncertain origin, possibly a variant of Rogelio.
Name Census estimates that about 2,435 living Americans carry the first name Rojelio. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Rojelio today is around 46 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Rojelio births was 1981 (66 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Rojelio. 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
2.4K
~ 1 in 140,762 Americans
Peak year
1981
66 babies that year
Average age
46
years old
2024 SSA rank
#10,664
Tracked since 1921
Census
Rojelio in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 2,289 people with the first name Rojelio, which placed it at #6,867 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
#6,867
National first-name rank
People counted
2.3K
2,289 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.8
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
96.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Rojelio
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Rojelio is Hispanic at 96.7%. The next largest groups are White (2.1%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (0.5%). 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 Rojelio 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 Rojelio at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino96.7% · 2,214
- White2.1% · 48
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 11
- Black or African American0.3% · 8
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.3% · 7
- Two or more races0.0% · 1
Popularity
Rojelio: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Rojelio from the 1920s through to the 2020s, spanning 11 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 492 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1980s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Rojelio 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 Rojelio during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Rojelios live
The SSA's state-level files cover 6 states and territories. Texas, California, Florida recorded the most babies named Rojelio, while Washington, Illinois, Arizona recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 321 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Rojelio
The given name Rojelio originated from the Spanish and Latin American cultures, with its roots tracing back to ancient Rome. It is believed to be a variant of the name Rogelio, which derives from the Latin name Rogerius. In turn, Rogerius is thought to have originated from the Germanic name Hrodger, which consists of the elements "hrod" (fame) and "ger" (spear).
The earliest known record of the name Rojelio can be found in Spanish and Latin American historical documents dating back to the 16th century. During this period, the name was primarily used by individuals of Spanish or Latin American descent, often within the context of the Catholic faith.
One of the earliest known individuals bearing the name Rojelio was Rojelio Martínez, a Spanish conquistador who participated in the conquest of the Aztec Empire in the early 16th century. Another notable figure from this era was Rojelio de Alvarado, a Spanish Catholic missionary who played a significant role in the evangelization efforts in the Americas.
In the 17th century, the name Rojelio gained prominence among the Spanish nobility and upper-class families. One such individual was Rojelio de Mendoza (1630-1702), a Spanish nobleman and military officer who served in the Spanish army during the Thirty Years' War.
As the centuries progressed, the name Rojelio continued to be used across the Spanish-speaking world, with notable individuals emerging in various fields. For example, Rojelio Naranjo (1820-1890) was a renowned Ecuadorian poet and writer, while Rojelio Hernández (1905-1988) was a celebrated Mexican painter known for his vibrant depictions of rural life.
In the 20th century, the name Rojelio gained further recognition through the accomplishments of individuals like Rojelio García (1915-2002), a Cuban-American artist and sculptor whose works explored themes of identity and cultural heritage. Additionally, Rojelio Rodríguez (1932-2018) was a respected Mexican actor and comedian who entertained audiences with his comedic performances on stage and television.
While the name Rojelio has its roots in Spanish and Latin American cultures, it has also been adopted and used in other parts of the world, particularly among communities with strong Hispanic ties or influences. However, its historical significance and cultural relevance remain deeply rooted in the rich traditions of the Spanish-speaking world.
People
Rojelio + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Rojelio 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
Rojelio: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Rojelio?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 2,435 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Rojelio 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 140,762 US residents.
Is Rojelio a common name?
We classify Rojelio as "Rare". It ranks above 94.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 2,952 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Rojelio most popular?
The single biggest year for Rojelio was 1981, when 66 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Rojelio is about 46 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Rojelio in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 2,289 people with the name Rojelio, or 0.76 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #6,867 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 Rojelio 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 Rojelio?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Rojelio appears almost entirely male. Of the 2,288 people counted with this name, 99.4% were male and only a very small share were female. 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 Rojelio?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Rojelio is Hispanic at 96.7%. The next largest groups are White (2.1%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (0.5%). 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 Rojelio most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Rojelio in the 2020 Census, accounting for 96.7% (2,214 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 Rojelio in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Rojelio a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Rojelio 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 Rojelio still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Rojelio 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 Rojelio 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 Rojelio?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.