Roll
A name with Old German origins meaning to revolve or move in a circular course.
Name Census estimates that about 0 living Americans carry the first name Roll. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Roll today is around 0 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Roll births was 1881 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Roll. 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 Roll. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
0
~ - Americans
Peak year
1881
5 babies that year
Average age
-
1881 SSA rank
#980
Tracked since 1881
Popularity
Roll: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Roll 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 Roll during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1880s | 5 | 0 | 5 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Roll
The given name Roll is an English name believed to have originated from the Old English word "rollan," which means "to roll" or "to turn." This name likely started as a descriptive nickname for someone who rolled or turned things as part of their occupation, such as a barrel maker or a miller.
The earliest known recorded use of the name Roll dates back to the 13th century in England. One of the earliest recorded individuals with this name was Roll de Hare, a landowner in Buckinghamshire, England, who was mentioned in historical records from the year 1273.
In medieval times, the name Roll was relatively uncommon, but it did appear in various historical records and documents. For instance, there was a Roll de Rouceby, a clergyman from Lincolnshire, England, who lived in the late 13th century.
During the Renaissance period, the name Roll gained some popularity among the nobility and upper classes in England. One notable figure from this era was Sir Roll Winwood (1565-1617), a prominent English diplomat and statesman who served under Queen Elizabeth I and King James I.
In the 17th century, the name Roll was also found in other parts of Europe, such as Germany and the Netherlands. One example is Roll van der Werff (1628-1686), a Dutch Golden Age painter known for his genre scenes and portraits.
In the 19th century, the name Roll was relatively uncommon but still in use. One notable individual was Roll Call (1819-1894), an American frontiersman and fur trapper who was active in the Rocky Mountains during the mid-19th century.
Throughout history, the name Roll has been represented by individuals from various walks of life, including artists, politicians, and adventurers. While it has never been an extremely popular name, it has maintained a consistent presence over the centuries, particularly in English-speaking regions.
People
Roll + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Roll 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
Roll: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Roll?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 0 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Roll 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 - US residents.
Is Roll a common name?
We classify Roll as "Very Rare". It ranks above 2.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 5 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Roll most popular?
The single biggest year for Roll was 1881, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Roll is about 0 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 Roll in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Roll a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Roll 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 Roll still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Roll 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 Roll 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 Roll?
Want to know how many people share the name Roll? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.