Romney
An English name derived from an Old English place name meaning "where the brambles or broom plants grow".
Name Census estimates that about 280 living Americans carry the first name Romney. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 84.5% of registrations being male. The average person named Romney today is around 39 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Romney births was 1963 (16 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Romney. 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
280
~ 1 in 1,224,123 Americans
Peak year
1963
16 babies that year
Average age
39
years old
2018 SSA rank
#9,936
Tracked since 1921
Census
Romney in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 495 people with the first name Romney, which placed it at #20,757 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
#20,757
National first-name rank
People counted
495
495 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
58.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Romney
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Romney is White at 58.4%. The next largest groups are Black (18.0%) and Hispanic (11.1%). 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 Romney 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 Romney at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White58.4% · 289
- Black or African American18.0% · 89
- Hispanic or Latino11.1% · 55
- Asian and Pacific Islander8.1% · 40
- Two or more races3.6% · 18
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 4
Gender
Gender distribution for Romney
Romney leans heavily male at 84.5% of total registrations, but 48 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Romney as a male name
- Ranked #13,701 in 2018
- 5 male births in 2018
- Peak: 2012 (16 births)
Romney as a female name
- Ranked #9,936 in 1983
- 6 female births in 1983
- Peak: 1965 (8 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Romney on both sides of the split. Of the 497 people counted with this name, 351 were male (70.6%) and 146 were female (29.4%).
Popularity
Romney: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Romney from the 1920s through to the 2010s, spanning 9 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 67 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
Romney 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 Romney during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Romneys live
Origin
Meaning and history of Romney
The name Romney has its origins in the Old English language, derived from the words "rum" meaning "spacious" and "ey" meaning "island." It was initially used as a place name for a settlement located on a large island or a wide expanse of land. The earliest recorded use of the name dates back to the 8th century AD, during the Anglo-Saxon period in England.
One of the first notable individuals with the name Romney was Romeny, a 9th-century Anglo-Saxon nobleman who was recorded in the Domesday Book, a historical record commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086. The name also appeared in various medieval chronicles and charters, indicating its widespread use among the English nobility and gentry.
In the 16th century, the name Romney gained prominence with the birth of George Romney (1734-1802), an English portrait painter who was renowned for his depictions of high society figures and landscapes. His works are exhibited in prestigious galleries such as the National Gallery in London and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.
Another historical figure bearing the name was Reverend John Romney (1768-1842), an English clergyman and academic who served as the President of Harvard College, now known as Harvard University, from 1809 to 1826. He played a significant role in shaping the institution's curriculum and promoting intellectual discourse during his tenure.
In the realm of literature, the name Romney is associated with the character of Romney Leigh, a major figure in Elizabeth Barrett Browning's acclaimed novel-poem "Aurora Leigh," published in 1856. The character's name was likely influenced by the renowned painter George Romney, reflecting the author's appreciation for the arts.
Moving into the 20th century, Romney Brent (1918-2003) was an American actor and playwright who gained recognition for his performances on Broadway and in films such as "The Manchurian Candidate" (1962) and "The Molly Maguires" (1970). His career spanned several decades, showcasing his versatility as a performer.
These examples illustrate the historical significance and diverse backgrounds of individuals who have borne the name Romney throughout the centuries, spanning various fields including art, academia, literature, and entertainment. While the name's origins can be traced back to Old English, its usage has transcended cultural and geographical boundaries, becoming a part of the rich tapestry of human nomenclature.
People
Romney + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Romney 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
Romney: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Romney?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 280 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Romney 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 1,224,123 US residents.
Is Romney a common name?
We classify Romney as "Very Rare". It ranks above 78.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 310 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Romney most popular?
The single biggest year for Romney was 1963, when 16 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Romney 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 Romney in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 495 people with the name Romney, or 0.16 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #20,757 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 Romney 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 Romney?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Romney on both sides of the split. Of the 497 people counted with this name, 351 were male (70.6%) and 146 were female (29.4%). 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 Romney?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Romney is White at 58.4%. The next largest groups are Black (18.0%) and Hispanic (11.1%). 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 Romney most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Romney in the 2020 Census, accounting for 58.4% (289 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 Romney in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Romney a male name?
Yes, 84.5% of people registered as Romney 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 Romney still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Romney 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 Romney 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 named Romney?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.