Rolene
A feminine name of uncertain origin, possibly derived from the Germanic element "ro" meaning "fame".
Name Census estimates that about 143 living Americans carry the first name Rolene. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Rolene today is around 75 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Rolene births was 1947 (19 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Rolene. 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
- • The typical person named Rolene is about 75 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Rolenes were born before 1961.
People living today
143
~ 1 in 2,396,883 Americans
Peak year
1947
19 babies that year
Average age
75
years old
1964 SSA rank
#4,920
Tracked since 1917
Census
Rolene in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 280 people with the first name Rolene, which placed it at #30,870 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
#30,870
National first-name rank
People counted
280
280 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
72.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Rolene
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Rolene is White at 72.5%. The next largest groups are Black (15.4%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (4.3%). 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 Rolene 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 Rolene at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White72.5% · 203
- Black or African American15.4% · 43
- Asian and Pacific Islander4.3% · 12
- American Indian and Alaska Native3.2% · 9
- Hispanic or Latino2.5% · 7
- Two or more races2.1% · 6
Popularity
Rolene: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Rolene from the 1910s through to the 1960s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1940s, with 103 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1940s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Rolene 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 Rolene 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 Rolene
The name Rolene is a variant of the French name Roleine, which is a feminine form of the male name Rolant, derived from the Frankish name Rodland. This name can be traced back to the 8th century and is believed to have originated in the regions of modern-day France and Germany.
The name Rolant is composed of two elements: "hrod" meaning "fame" or "renown," and "land" meaning "land" or "territory." Thus, the name Rolene carries the meaning of "famous land" or "renowned territory." It is a name with strong connections to the Carolingian dynasty and the legends surrounding the paladins of Charlemagne.
One of the earliest known references to the name Rolene can be found in the epic poem "The Song of Roland," which dates back to the late 11th century. In this literary work, the name is associated with the legendary knight Roland, who fought bravely in the Battle of Roncesvalles against the Basque forces.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Rolene. One of the earliest recorded examples is Rolene de Verdun (c. 1050-1115), a noble lady from the Duchy of Lorraine, who became the wife of Godfrey of Bouillon, a prominent leader of the First Crusade.
In the 13th century, Rolene de Lusignan (c. 1205-1263) was a member of the royal family of Cyprus and the wife of Henry I of Cyprus. She played a significant role in the political affairs of the Kingdom of Cyprus during her lifetime.
Another notable figure was Rolene de Genouillac (c. 1520-1580), a French noblewoman and courtier during the reign of King Henry II of France. She was known for her involvement in the cultural and literary circles of the French Renaissance.
In the 17th century, Rolene de La Baume Le Blanc (1635-1699) was a French aristocrat and writer who authored several works on religious and moral topics.
More recently, in the 20th century, Rolene Strauss (born 1992) is a South African model and beauty queen who won the Miss World pageant in 2014, representing her country.
These individuals, spanning several centuries and from various backgrounds, demonstrate the enduring presence and historical significance of the name Rolene.
People
Rolene + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Rolene 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
Rolene: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Rolene?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 143 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Rolene 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 2,396,883 US residents.
Is Rolene a common name?
We classify Rolene as "Very Rare". It ranks above 69.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 354 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Rolene most popular?
The single biggest year for Rolene was 1947, when 19 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Rolene is about 75 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Rolene in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 280 people with the name Rolene, or 0.09 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #30,870 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 Rolene 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 Rolene?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Rolene appears almost entirely female. Of the 281 people counted with this name, 99.3% 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 Rolene?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Rolene is White at 72.5%. The next largest groups are Black (15.4%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (4.3%). 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 Rolene most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Rolene in the 2020 Census, accounting for 72.5% (203 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 Rolene in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Rolene a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Rolene 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 Rolene still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Rolene 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 Rolene 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 Rolene as a first name?
For a quick modern take, check how many Americans are named Rolene on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.