Romanita
Of Spanish origin, meaning "little Roman woman" or "Roman girl".
Name Census estimates that about 48 living Americans carry the first name Romanita. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Romanita today is around 65 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Romanita births was 1973 (9 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Romanita. 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
- • The typical person named Romanita is about 65 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Romanitas were born before 1971.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Romanita. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
48
~ 1 in 7,140,715 Americans
Peak year
1973
9 babies that year
Average age
65
years old
1973 SSA rank
#5,945
Tracked since 1935
Census
Romanita in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 215 people with the first name Romanita, which placed it at #36,733 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
#36,733
National first-name rank
People counted
215
215 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
60.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Romanita
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Romanita is Hispanic at 60.0%. The next largest groups are Black (20.9%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (8.4%). 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 Romanita 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 Romanita at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino60.0% · 129
- Black or African American20.9% · 45
- Asian and Pacific Islander8.4% · 18
- White6.5% · 14
- American Indian and Alaska Native3.7% · 8
- Two or more races0.5% · 1
Popularity
Romanita: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Romanita from the 1930s through to the 1970s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1940s, with 20 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1940s peak, Romanita remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Romanita 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 Romanita during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Romanitas live
Origin
Meaning and history of Romanita
The name Romanita is derived from the Latin word "Romanitus," which means "Roman-like" or "in the Roman manner." This name has its origins in ancient Rome, where it was likely used to describe someone who embraced Roman culture, values, and way of life.
In the early days of the Roman Empire, the name Romanita may have been used to refer to individuals who were not of Roman descent but had adopted Roman customs and traditions. It could also have been given to children born to Roman citizens living in the provinces, signifying their connection to the heart of the empire.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Romanita can be found in a Roman inscription from the 2nd century AD, where it appears as the name of a woman who was a freedwoman, or a former slave who had been granted her freedom.
Throughout the centuries, the name Romanita has been carried by various notable individuals. In the 5th century AD, there was a Roman noblewoman named Romanita who was known for her philanthropic work and patronage of the arts.
During the Renaissance period, Romanita Borghese (1490-1559) was an Italian painter and one of the few female artists of her time to achieve recognition for her work.
In the 18th century, Romanita Della Rovere (1725-1801) was an Italian noble and patron of the arts, known for her support of the Accademia di San Luca, one of the oldest academies of art in Europe.
More recently, Romanita Iordache (1898-1976) was a Romanian poet and playwright whose works explored themes of love, nature, and the human condition.
Another notable figure with this name was Romanita Ferrer (1917-2008), a Spanish artist and sculptor who was part of the avant-garde movement in Barcelona during the mid-20th century.
While the name Romanita may not be as common today as it once was, it carries a rich history and connection to the ancient Roman civilization, reflecting the enduring influence of Roman culture and traditions.
People
Romanita + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Romanita 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
Romanita: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Romanita?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 48 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Romanita 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 7,140,715 US residents.
Is Romanita a common name?
We classify Romanita as "Very Rare". It ranks above 53.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 72 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Romanita most popular?
The single biggest year for Romanita was 1973, when 9 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Romanita is about 65 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Romanita in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 215 people with the name Romanita, or 0.07 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #36,733 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 Romanita 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 Romanita?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Romanita appears almost entirely female. Of the 210 people counted with this name, 100.0% 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 Romanita?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Romanita is Hispanic at 60.0%. The next largest groups are Black (20.9%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (8.4%). 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 Romanita most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Romanita in the 2020 Census, accounting for 60.0% (129 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 Romanita in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Romanita a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Romanita 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 Romanita still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Romanita 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 Romanita 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 common is the name Romanita?
For a quick modern take, check how many people share the name Romanita on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.