Rosevelt
A masculine name of Dutch origin meaning "rose field".
Name Census estimates that about 788 living Americans carry the first name Rosevelt. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Rosevelt today is around 76 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Rosevelt births was 1933 (122 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Rosevelt. 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 Rosevelt is about 76 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Rosevelts were born before 1960.
People living today
788
~ 1 in 434,967 Americans
Peak year
1933
122 babies that year
Average age
76
years old
1993 SSA rank
#9,892
Tracked since 1900
Census
Rosevelt in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 651 people with the first name Rosevelt, which placed it at #17,102 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
#17,102
National first-name rank
People counted
651
651 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
88.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Rosevelt
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Rosevelt is Black at 88.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.7%) and White (3.2%). 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 Rosevelt 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 Rosevelt at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American88.0% · 573
- Hispanic or Latino3.7% · 24
- White3.2% · 21
- Two or more races2.5% · 16
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.0% · 13
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 4
Popularity
Rosevelt: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Rosevelt from the 1900s through to the 1990s, spanning 10 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1930s, with 816 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
Rosevelt 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 Rosevelt during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Rosevelts live
The SSA's state-level files cover 10 states and territories. Mississippi, South Carolina, Alabama recorded the most babies named Rosevelt, while Virginia, Florida, Texas recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 187 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Rosevelt
The given name Rosevelt is a relatively modern invention, believed to have originated in the late 19th or early 20th century. It is likely derived from the Dutch surname Roosevelt, which was famously borne by the 26th President of the United States, Theodore Roosevelt (1858-1919). The name Roosevelt itself is thought to be derived from the Dutch words "rose" meaning "rose" and "velt" meaning "field," suggesting a connection to the rose flower or a metaphorical rose field.
While the name Rosevelt does not appear to have any direct historical references in ancient texts or religious scriptures, its association with the Roosevelt family and their prominent role in American politics and history has undoubtedly contributed to its recognition and usage.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Rosevelt being used as a first name is Rosevelt Finley Johnson (1892-1963), an American educator and civil rights activist. Another notable figure was Rosevelt Green (1936-2009), an American professional basketball player who played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for several teams, including the Cincinnati Royals and the St. Louis Hawks.
Among other notable individuals with the first name Rosevelt are Rosevelt Colvin (born 1977), a former American football defensive end who played in the NFL for teams like the New England Patriots and the Houston Texans. Rosevelt Noble (born 1944) is an American actor known for his roles in films such as "Cooley High" and "The Gambler."
Another individual with the name Rosevelt is Rosevelt Brownlee (born 1982), a former professional American football linebacker who played for teams like the Carolina Panthers and the Denver Broncos in the NFL.
While the name Rosevelt may not have a long and storied history like many other given names, its association with the Roosevelt family and its unique blend of Dutch and English influences have contributed to its recognition and usage in various contexts.
Notable bearers
Famous people named Rosevelt
People
Rosevelt + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Rosevelt 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
Rosevelt: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Rosevelt?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 788 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Rosevelt 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 434,967 US residents.
Is Rosevelt a common name?
We classify Rosevelt as "Very Rare". It ranks above 88.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 3,074 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Rosevelt most popular?
The single biggest year for Rosevelt was 1933, when 122 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Rosevelt is about 76 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Rosevelt in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 651 people with the name Rosevelt, or 0.22 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #17,102 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 Rosevelt 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 Rosevelt?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Rosevelt leans strongly male. 641 people counted with this name were male (97.9%), compared with 14 female bearers (2.1%). 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 Rosevelt?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Rosevelt is Black at 88.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.7%) and White (3.2%). 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 Rosevelt most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Rosevelt in the 2020 Census, accounting for 88.0% (573 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 Rosevelt in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Rosevelt a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Rosevelt 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 Rosevelt still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Rosevelt 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 Rosevelt 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 Rosevelt as a first name?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.