Romal
A name of Arabic origin meaning "an expert craftsman or artisan".
Name Census estimates that about 10 living Americans carry the first name Romal. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Romal today is around 39 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Romal births was 1977 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Romal. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Romal with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Romal. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
10
~ 1 in 34,275,434 Americans
Peak year
1977
5 babies that year
Average age
39
years old
1992 SSA rank
#9,528
Tracked since 1977
Census
Romal in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 152 people with the first name Romal, which placed it at #44,992 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
#44,992
National first-name rank
People counted
152
152 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
40.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Romal
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Romal is Black at 40.1%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (35.5%) and White (9.2%). 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 Romal 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 Romal at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American40.1% · 61
- Asian and Pacific Islander35.5% · 54
- White9.2% · 14
- Two or more races9.2% · 14
- Hispanic or Latino5.9% · 9
Popularity
Romal: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Romal from the 1970s through to the 1990s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 5 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Romal 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 Romal 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 Romal
The name Romal is believed to have originated from the Arabic language, and its earliest roots can be traced back to the Middle Ages in the regions of the Middle East and North Africa. The name is derived from the Arabic word "Raml," which means "sand" or "desert," reflecting the arid landscapes of the region.
In Islamic history, the name Romal is mentioned in several literary works and poetic texts, indicating its cultural significance. One of the earliest recorded references is found in the writings of the renowned Persian poet Rumi, who lived in the 13th century. His poems often celebrated the beauty of the desert and the spiritual journey of the soul, making the name Romal a symbolic representation of these themes.
The earliest known bearer of the name Romal was a 12th-century Arab scholar and poet from Andalusia, known as Romal ibn Abi al-Hasan. His poetry and literary works contributed to the cultural renaissance of the time and helped preserve the Arabic language and its literary traditions.
Another notable figure with the name Romal was a 14th-century Sufi mystic and philosopher from Persia, known as Romal al-Din Rumi. He was renowned for his mystical teachings and his influential work, the Masnavi, which is considered one of the greatest spiritual masterpieces in Persian literature.
In the 16th century, a prominent Ottoman architect named Romal Mehmet Aga left his mark on the architectural landscape of Istanbul. He was responsible for designing and constructing several iconic mosques and palaces, including the famous Sultanahmet Mosque, also known as the Blue Mosque.
During the 19th century, a notable Egyptian scholar and writer named Romal al-Khudhuri made significant contributions to the fields of Arabic literature and Islamic studies. His works focused on preserving and promoting the cultural heritage of the Arab world.
Throughout history, the name Romal has been carried by various individuals from different walks of life, each leaving their unique imprint on the cultural tapestry of the regions where they lived and worked.
People
Romal + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Romal 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
Romal: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Romal?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 10 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Romal 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 34,275,434 US residents.
Is Romal a common name?
We classify Romal as "Very Rare". It ranks above 28.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 10 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Romal most popular?
The single biggest year for Romal was 1977, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Romal is about 39 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Romal in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 152 people with the name Romal, or 0.05 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #44,992 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 Romal 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 Romal?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Romal leans strongly male. 144 people counted with this name were male (94.7%), compared with 8 female bearers (5.3%). 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 Romal?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Romal is Black at 40.1%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (35.5%) and White (9.2%). 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 Romal most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Romal in the 2020 Census, accounting for 40.1% (61 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 Romal in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Romal a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Romal 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 Romal still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Romal 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 Romal 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 called Romal?
You can see how many people have the name Romal on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.