Roselind
A feminine name of English origin meaning "beautiful rose".
Name Census estimates that about 225 living Americans carry the first name Roselind. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Roselind today is around 59 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Roselind births was 1940 (12 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Roselind. 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
225
~ 1 in 1,523,353 Americans
Peak year
1940
12 babies that year
Average age
59
years old
2020 SSA rank
#17,040
Tracked since 1913
Census
Roselind in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 314 people with the first name Roselind, which placed it at #28,548 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
#28,548
National first-name rank
People counted
314
314 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
40.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Roselind
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Roselind is White at 40.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (23.9%) and Black (23.6%). 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 Roselind 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 Roselind at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White40.4% · 127
- Hispanic or Latino23.9% · 75
- Black or African American23.6% · 74
- Asian and Pacific Islander7.6% · 24
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.5% · 8
- Two or more races1.9% · 6
Popularity
Roselind: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Roselind from the 1910s through to the 2020s, spanning 11 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 83 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1960s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Roselind 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 Roselind during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Roselinds live
Origin
Meaning and history of Roselind
The name Roselind is a feminine given name of English origin, derived from the combination of the Germanic elements "hros" meaning "horse" and "lind" meaning "tender" or "soft." It emerged as a variant of the more common name Rosalind during the Middle Ages.
In its earliest known usage, the name Roselind appeared in various medieval English records, often referring to individuals of noble or knightly status. One of the earliest recorded bearers of the name was Lady Roselind de Vere, a noblewoman who lived in the 13th century and was a member of the prominent de Vere family of Essex, England.
The name Roselind gained further literary prominence in the 16th century when it was used by William Shakespeare in his famous pastoral comedy "As You Like It." In the play, Rosalind is the central female character, a witty and intelligent young woman who disguises herself as a man to escape persecution. This literary reference contributed to the name's enduring popularity and association with intelligence and strength of character.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Roselind. One such figure was Roselind Kydd (1563-1610), a Scottish woman who was accused of witchcraft during the North Berwick witch trials in the late 16th century. Despite being subjected to torture, she maintained her innocence and was eventually released.
Another prominent bearer of the name was Roselind Naden (1773-1860), a British botanist and naturalist who made significant contributions to the study of lichens and mosses. She was one of the first female members of the prestigious Linnean Society of London, a testament to her scientific accomplishments in a field dominated by men at the time.
In the 19th century, Roselind Lilian Owen (1862-1950) was a Welsh artist and illustrator renowned for her intricate book illustrations and portraits. Her work graced numerous publications, including editions of works by renowned authors such as Robert Browning and Thomas Hardy.
The name Roselind has also been associated with figures in the performing arts, such as Roselind Russell (1907-1976), an American actress best known for her role as Auntie Mame in the 1958 film of the same name. Her versatile performances in both comedic and dramatic roles earned her widespread critical acclaim and several Academy Award nominations.
While less common in modern times, the name Roselind continues to evoke a sense of grace, intelligence, and literary heritage, reflecting its rich historical and cultural significance.
People
Roselind + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Roselind 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
Roselind: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Roselind?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 225 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Roselind 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 1,523,353 US residents.
Is Roselind a common name?
We classify Roselind as "Very Rare". It ranks above 75.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 402 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Roselind most popular?
The single biggest year for Roselind was 1940, when 12 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Roselind is about 59 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Roselind in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 314 people with the name Roselind, or 0.10 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #28,548 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 Roselind 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 Roselind?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Roselind appears almost entirely female. Of the 309 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 Roselind?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Roselind is White at 40.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (23.9%) and Black (23.6%). 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 Roselind most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Roselind in the 2020 Census, accounting for 40.4% (127 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 Roselind in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Roselind a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Roselind 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 Roselind still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Roselind 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 Roselind 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 Roselind?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.