Romania
A feminine name derived from the Latin word "Romanus", meaning "citizen of Rome".
Name Census estimates that about 14 living Americans carry the first name Romania. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Romania today is around 63 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Romania births was 1927 (7 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Romania. 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 Romania. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
14
~ 1 in 24,482,453 Americans
Peak year
1927
7 babies that year
Average age
63
years old
1980 SSA rank
#11,709
Tracked since 1917
Census
Romania in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 119 people with the first name Romania, which placed it at #50,492 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
#50,492
National first-name rank
People counted
119
119 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.0
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
59.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Romania
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Romania is Black at 59.7%. The next largest groups are White (18.5%) and Hispanic (16.0%). 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 Romania 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 Romania at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American59.7% · 71
- White18.5% · 22
- Hispanic or Latino16.0% · 19
- Asian and Pacific Islander5.0% · 6
- Two or more races0.8% · 1
Popularity
Romania: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Romania from the 1910s through to the 1980s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 20 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
Romania 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 Romania 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 Romania
Romania is a relatively modern name that is derived from the historical region of Romania, which takes its name from the Romance-speaking population that inhabited the region during the Middle Ages. The name itself can be traced back to the Latin word "Romanus," which means "Roman." This reflects the region's historical ties to the Roman Empire and the enduring influence of Latin language and culture in the area.
The earliest recorded use of the name Romania dates back to the 16th century, when it was used to refer to the principalities of Wallachia and Moldavia, which were located in the region that is now modern-day Romania. During this time, the name was often used interchangeably with other terms such as "Țara Românească" (Romanian Land) and "Țările Române" (Romanian Countries).
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Romania can be found in the works of the Transylvanian humanist and scholar Johannes Sommer, who used the term "Romania" to describe the region in his writings in the 16th century. Another notable early use of the name was in the work of the Italian humanist and cartographer Filippo Pigafetta, who referred to the region as "Romania" in his map of Eastern Europe published in 1573.
Throughout history, there have been several notable figures who have carried the name Romania. One of the earliest was Romania Elisabeta (1530-1591), a Moldavian noblewoman and patron of the arts who commissioned the construction of the Moldovița Monastery, one of the famous painted monasteries of Bucovina.
Another notable figure was Romania Maria (1670-1714), a Wallachian princess and the daughter of Prince Constantin Brâncoveanu. She played a significant role in the cultural and artistic life of Wallachia during her lifetime and was known for her patronage of the arts and her support of the Orthodox Church.
In more recent history, there was Romania Mihai (1921-2017), who was the last King of Romania and reigned from 1927 to 1930 and again from 1940 to 1947. He was forced to abdicate by the communist regime in 1947 and lived in exile for many years before being able to return to Romania after the fall of communism in 1989.
Other notable figures with the name Romania include Romania Iulia (1899-1983), a Romanian poet and essayist who was a prominent figure in the literary circles of the interwar period, and Romania Ecaterina (1935-2021), a Romanian actress and singer who was known for her roles in numerous films and theatrical productions throughout her career.
While the name Romania has its roots in the historical region and its Latin-derived language, it has also taken on a more modern and patriotic connotation, reflecting the pride and identity of the Romanian people and their cultural heritage.
People
Romania + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Romania 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
Romania: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Romania?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 14 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Romania 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 24,482,453 US residents.
Is Romania a common name?
We classify Romania as "Very Rare". It ranks above 34% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 46 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Romania most popular?
The single biggest year for Romania was 1927, when 7 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Romania is about 63 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Romania in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 119 people with the name Romania, or 0.04 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #50,492 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 Romania 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 Romania?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Romania leans strongly female. 112 people counted with this name were female (91.1%), compared with 11 male bearers (8.9%). 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 Romania?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Romania is Black at 59.7%. The next largest groups are White (18.5%) and Hispanic (16.0%). 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 Romania most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Romania in the 2020 Census, accounting for 59.7% (71 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 Romania in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Romania a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Romania 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 Romania still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Romania 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 Romania 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 Romania?
You can see how many people have the name Romania on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.