Romana
A feminine name of Italian origin meaning "a woman from Rome".
Name Census estimates that about 882 living Americans carry the first name Romana. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Romana today is around 49 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Romana births was 1928 (53 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Romana. 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
882
~ 1 in 388,610 Americans
Peak year
1928
53 babies that year
Average age
49
years old
2023 SSA rank
#17,112
Tracked since 1891
Popularity
Romana: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Romana from the 1890s through to the 2020s, spanning 14 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 291 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1920s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Romana 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 Romana during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Romanas live
Origin
Meaning and history of Romana
The name Romana has its origins in Latin, derived from the word "Romanus" meaning "Roman". This name has been associated with the ancient Roman civilization and culture since its inception.
In ancient times, the name Romana was used to denote a female of Roman descent or citizenship. It became a popular name among the Roman aristocracy and was often given to daughters born into noble families.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Romana can be found in the writings of the Roman historian Livy, who mentioned a woman by this name in his historical accounts from the 1st century BC.
The name Romana also appears in various religious texts and historical records throughout the Middle Ages and the Renaissance period, reflecting its enduring popularity across different eras.
Notable historical figures who bore the name Romana include:
1. Romana Argiria (born c. 975), a Byzantine empress and wife of Basil II, the Byzantine emperor from 976 to 1025.
2. Romana Petri (born c. 1180), an Italian Catholic saint and member of the Franciscan Order.
3. Romana Vitzthum (1490-1561), a German noblewoman and influential figure during the Protestant Reformation.
4. Romana Ruprecht (1550-1619), a German composer and musician during the Renaissance period.
5. Romana Petrucci (1624-1676), an Italian painter and artist known for her still-life paintings.
Throughout history, the name Romana has been associated with strong and influential women, often reflecting their Roman heritage or connections to the ancient Roman civilization.
People
Romana + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Romana 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
Romana: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Romana?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 882 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Romana 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 388,610 US residents.
Is Romana a common name?
We classify Romana as "Very Rare". It ranks above 89.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,733 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Romana most popular?
The single biggest year for Romana was 1928, when 53 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Romana is about 49 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Romana a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Romana 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.
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.