Roosvelt
Rose field, from Dutch elements meaning "field" and "counsel".
Name Census estimates that about 115 living Americans carry the first name Roosvelt. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Roosvelt today is around 74 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Roosvelt births was 1933 (22 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Roosvelt. 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 Roosvelt is about 74 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Roosvelts were born before 1962.
People living today
115
~ 1 in 2,980,473 Americans
Peak year
1933
22 babies that year
Average age
74
years old
1975 SSA rank
#6,157
Tracked since 1904
Census
Roosvelt in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 167 people with the first name Roosvelt, which placed it at #42,759 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
#42,759
National first-name rank
People counted
167
167 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
73.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Roosvelt
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Roosvelt is Black at 73.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (20.4%) and White (6.0%). 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 Roosvelt 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 Roosvelt at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American73.1% · 122
- Hispanic or Latino20.4% · 34
- White6.0% · 10
- Two or more races0.6% · 1
Popularity
Roosvelt: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Roosvelt from the 1900s through to the 1970s, spanning 8 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1930s, with 111 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1930s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Roosvelt 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 Roosvelt during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Roosvelts live
Origin
Meaning and history of Roosvelt
Roosvelt is a unique given name with a rich historical background. Its origins can be traced back to the Dutch language, specifically the word "Roosvelt," which means "rose field" or "field of roses." This name gained prominence during the 17th and 18th centuries in the Netherlands and surrounding regions.
The earliest recorded use of the name Roosvelt dates back to the late 16th century, when it appeared in various Dutch historical records and documents. However, it wasn't until the 17th century that the name gained widespread popularity, particularly among the Dutch nobility and aristocracy.
One of the most notable historical figures bearing the name Roosvelt was Roosvelt van Palts (1619-1678), a Dutch military commander and statesman who served as the Governor of Dutch Brazil from 1647 to 1654. His leadership during the Dutch colonization of Brazil played a significant role in shaping the region's history.
Another influential figure was Roosvelt van Nieuwenhuizen (1665-1721), a Dutch politician and diplomat who served as the Ambassador of the Dutch Republic to various European courts. His diplomatic efforts contributed to the strengthening of Dutch political and economic ties with other nations.
In the 18th century, the name Roosvelt continued to be associated with prominent figures in the Netherlands. One such individual was Roosvelt van Amstel (1723-1789), a wealthy merchant and landowner who played a pivotal role in the development of Amsterdam's trade and commerce.
The name Roosvelt also gained international recognition with the rise of the Roosevelt family in the United States. While not exactly the same spelling, the name's influence can be seen in the lives of notable Americans like Theodore Roosevelt (1858-1919), the 26th President of the United States, and his cousin Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882-1945), the 32nd President of the United States.
It's worth noting that while the name Roosvelt has Dutch origins, it has been adopted and adapted by various cultures and communities around the world, with slight variations in spelling and pronunciation. However, the core meaning and historical significance of the name remain closely tied to its Dutch roots and the influential figures who bore it throughout history.
People
Roosvelt + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Roosvelt 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
Roosvelt: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Roosvelt?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 115 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Roosvelt 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 2,980,473 US residents.
Is Roosvelt a common name?
We classify Roosvelt as "Very Rare". It ranks above 66.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 288 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Roosvelt most popular?
The single biggest year for Roosvelt was 1933, when 22 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Roosvelt is about 74 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Roosvelt in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 167 people with the name Roosvelt, or 0.06 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #42,759 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 Roosvelt 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 Roosvelt?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Roosvelt appears almost entirely male. Of the 171 people counted with this name, 100.0% were male and only a very small share were female. 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 Roosvelt?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Roosvelt is Black at 73.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (20.4%) and White (6.0%). 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 Roosvelt most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Roosvelt in the 2020 Census, accounting for 73.1% (122 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 Roosvelt in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Roosvelt a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Roosvelt 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 Roosvelt still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Roosvelt 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 Roosvelt 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 have the name Roosvelt?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.