Roshaunda
A feminine name of uncertain origin, possibly a variant or combination of Rose and Shaunda.
Name Census estimates that about 156 living Americans carry the first name Roshaunda. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Roshaunda today is around 42 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Roshaunda births was 1982 (14 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Roshaunda. 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
156
~ 1 in 2,197,143 Americans
Peak year
1982
14 babies that year
Average age
42
years old
1999 SSA rank
#16,352
Tracked since 1973
Popularity
Roshaunda: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Roshaunda from the 1970s through to the 1990s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 100 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1980s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Roshaunda 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 Roshaunda during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Roshaundas live
Origin
Meaning and history of Roshaunda
The name Roshaunda has its origins in the Yoruba language of West Africa, particularly in present-day Nigeria. It is a combination of two words: "Ro," meaning "to usher in," and "shaunda," meaning "blessings" or "good fortune." The name thus carries the meaning of "one who ushers in blessings."
The earliest recorded use of the name Roshaunda can be traced back to the 16th century, during the height of the Oyo Empire in what is now southwestern Nigeria. It was a popular name among the Yoruba people, who placed great importance on the meanings and significance of personal names.
In the 17th and 18th centuries, the transatlantic slave trade saw many Yoruba people forcibly transported to the Americas, carrying their cultural traditions and naming practices with them. As a result, the name Roshaunda began to appear in various parts of the Caribbean and the southern United States.
One of the earliest known individuals to bear the name Roshaunda was a Yoruba woman born around 1720 in the Kingdom of Dahomey (now part of Benin). She was captured and sold into slavery, eventually ending up in Jamaica, where she passed on the name to her descendants.
Another notable figure was Roshaunda Akinyele (1825-1892), a Yoruba-born woman who became a prominent leader in the Maroon community of Jamaica. She played a crucial role in preserving and passing down Yoruba cultural traditions, including naming customs, to future generations.
In the early 20th century, Roshaunda Ojo (1905-1987), a Nigerian writer and educator, helped to popularize the name through her works promoting Yoruba culture and language. Her efforts contributed to the resurgence of traditional Yoruba names in modern Nigeria.
Roshaunda Kimberly (1945-2008), an American author and activist, was another notable figure who carried the name. She was known for her work in promoting African-American literature and addressing issues of racial inequality.
More recently, Roshaunda Redmond (born 1978) is a contemporary American jazz singer and songwriter who has helped to keep the name Roshaunda in the public consciousness through her musical career.
People
Roshaunda + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Roshaunda 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
Roshaunda: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Roshaunda?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 156 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Roshaunda 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 2,197,143 US residents.
Is Roshaunda a common name?
We classify Roshaunda as "Very Rare". It ranks above 70.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 166 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Roshaunda most popular?
The single biggest year for Roshaunda was 1982, when 14 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Roshaunda is about 42 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Roshaunda a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Roshaunda 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.
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.