Rolinda
A feminine given name with Germanic origins, meaning "fame" and "linden tree."
Name Census estimates that about 355 living Americans carry the first name Rolinda. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Rolinda today is around 62 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Rolinda births was 1958 (21 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Rolinda. 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
355
~ 1 in 965,505 Americans
Peak year
1958
21 babies that year
Average age
62
years old
1998 SSA rank
#16,037
Tracked since 1940
Census
Rolinda in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 510 people with the first name Rolinda, which placed it at #20,297 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
#20,297
National first-name rank
People counted
510
510 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
43.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Rolinda
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Rolinda is White at 43.5%. The next largest groups are Black (23.5%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (13.1%). 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 Rolinda 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 Rolinda at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White43.5% · 222
- Black or African American23.5% · 120
- Asian and Pacific Islander13.1% · 67
- American Indian and Alaska Native8.0% · 41
- Hispanic or Latino7.1% · 36
- Two or more races4.7% · 24
Popularity
Rolinda: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Rolinda from the 1940s through to the 1990s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 156 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1960s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Rolinda 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 Rolinda during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Rolindas live
Origin
Meaning and history of Rolinda
The given name Rolinda has its origins in the Germanic languages, with roots that can be traced back to the Middle Ages. The name is derived from the Old High German word "hruod," which means "fame" or "renown," and the suffix "-linda," which signifies "tender" or "soft." Together, these elements form a name that carries the meaning of "tender fame" or "soft renown."
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Rolinda dates back to the 12th century, where it appears in a medieval German manuscript. This document mentions a noblewoman named Rolinda von Staufen, who was a member of the influential Staufen dynasty that ruled parts of Germany during the High Middle Ages.
In the 14th century, a notable figure bearing the name Rolinda was Rolinda de' Pazzi, an Italian nun and mystic who lived in Florence. She was known for her spiritual visions and writings, which earned her a reputation for piety and holiness within the Catholic Church.
During the Renaissance period, the name Rolinda gained popularity among the artistic and literary circles of Italy. One notable bearer of the name was Rolinda Ricci, a celebrated painter who lived in the 16th century. Her works, which often depicted religious themes, adorned the walls of numerous churches and palaces throughout Italy.
In the 17th century, the name Rolinda made its way to England, where it was borne by Rolinda Willoughby, a noblewoman and patron of the arts. She was known for her support of playwrights and poets, contributing to the flourishing of English literature during the Restoration period.
Another notable figure named Rolinda was Rolinda von Stetten, a German writer and philosopher who lived in the 18th century. She was renowned for her contributions to the Enlightenment movement, advocating for the advancement of women's education and the pursuit of knowledge.
While the name Rolinda has maintained a presence throughout history, it has never achieved widespread popularity. However, its unique blend of Germanic roots and meanings related to fame and tenderness have made it a distinctive and intriguing choice for parents seeking a name with a rich cultural heritage.
People
Rolinda + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Rolinda 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
Rolinda: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Rolinda?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 355 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Rolinda 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 965,505 US residents.
Is Rolinda a common name?
We classify Rolinda as "Very Rare". It ranks above 81% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 462 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Rolinda most popular?
The single biggest year for Rolinda was 1958, when 21 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Rolinda is about 62 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Rolinda in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 510 people with the name Rolinda, or 0.17 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #20,297 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 Rolinda 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 Rolinda?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Rolinda appears almost entirely female. Of the 511 people counted with this name, 99.8% 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 Rolinda?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Rolinda is White at 43.5%. The next largest groups are Black (23.5%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (13.1%). 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 Rolinda most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Rolinda in the 2020 Census, accounting for 43.5% (222 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 Rolinda in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Rolinda a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Rolinda 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 Rolinda still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Rolinda 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 Rolinda 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 share the name Rolinda?
You can see how many people have the name Rolinda on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.