Roselyn
A feminine name of Latin origin meaning "pretty rose" or "little rose".
Name Census estimates that about 10,749 living Americans carry the first name Roselyn. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Roselyn today is around 26 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Roselyn births was 2018 (459 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Roselyn. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Roselyn with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
11K
~ 1 in 31,887 Americans
Peak year
2018
459 babies that year
Average age
26
years old
2024 SSA rank
#1,034
Tracked since 1894
Census
Roselyn in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 9,791 people with the first name Roselyn, which placed it at #2,498 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
#2,498
National first-name rank
People counted
9.8K
9,791 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
3.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
42.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Roselyn
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Roselyn is Hispanic at 42.0%. The next largest groups are White (31.0%) and Black (12.6%). 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 Roselyn 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 Roselyn at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino42.0% · 4,111
- White31.0% · 3,037
- Black or African American12.6% · 1,238
- Asian and Pacific Islander10.0% · 981
- Two or more races2.3% · 228
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.0% · 196
Popularity
Roselyn: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Roselyn from the 1890s through to the 2020s, spanning 14 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 3,614 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Roselyn remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Roselyn 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 Roselyn during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Roselyns live
The SSA's state-level files cover 38 states and territories. California, New York, Texas recorded the most babies named Roselyn, while South Dakota, Mississippi, Nebraska recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 257 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Roselyn
The name Roselyn has its roots in the Latin language and can be traced back to the medieval period. It is derived from the Latin name Rosalina, which is a combination of the words "rosa" meaning rose and "linus" meaning line or thread. The name essentially translates to "little rose" or "rose-like."
In its early days, the name Roselyn was particularly popular among the nobility and upper classes in various parts of Europe, including France, Italy, and England. It was often associated with beauty, grace, and delicacy, much like the rose flower itself.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Roselyn can be found in the 12th century, when it appeared in a French poem written by the trouvère Gace Brulé. The poem celebrated the beauty and virtues of a woman named Roselyn, establishing the name's association with feminine charm and elegance.
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Roselyn. One of the most famous was Roselyn Vere, an English noblewoman who lived in the 13th century. She was renowned for her beauty and was the subject of numerous romantic poems and ballads of the time.
In the 16th century, Roselyn Shakespeare, the daughter of the renowned playwright William Shakespeare, carried on the legacy of this name. While not as famous as her father, she is remembered as a respected figure in her own right.
Another notable Roselyn was Roselyn Ayres, a British actress and dancer who graced the stage in the late 17th and early 18th centuries. She was known for her talent and grace, further cementing the name's association with beauty and artistry.
Moving into the 19th century, Roselyn Blakiston, an English explorer and naturalist, made her mark in the field of science. She was renowned for her contributions to the study of flora and fauna in various parts of the world.
Finally, in the 20th century, Roselyn Dutton, an American painter and sculptor, gained recognition for her vibrant and expressive works of art. Her creative spirit and talent embodied the enduring charm and beauty associated with the name Roselyn.
Notable bearers
Famous people named Roselyn
People
Roselyn + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Roselyn 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
Roselyn: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Roselyn?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 10,749 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Roselyn 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 31,887 US residents.
Is Roselyn a common name?
We classify Roselyn as "Uncommon". It ranks above 97.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 14,294 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Roselyn most popular?
The single biggest year for Roselyn was 2018, when 459 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Roselyn is about 26 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Roselyn in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 9,791 people with the name Roselyn, or 3.24 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #2,498 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 Roselyn 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 Roselyn?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Roselyn appears almost entirely female. Of the 9,798 people counted with this name, 99.7% 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 Roselyn?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Roselyn is Hispanic at 42.0%. The next largest groups are White (31.0%) and Black (12.6%). 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 Roselyn most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Roselyn in the 2020 Census, accounting for 42.0% (4,111 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 Roselyn in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Roselyn a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Roselyn 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 Roselyn still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Roselyn 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 Roselyn 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 Americans are named Roselyn?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.