Roshon
An Indian masculine name meaning "brightness" or "light" in Sanskrit.
Name Census estimates that about 212 living Americans carry the first name Roshon. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 73.5% of registrations being male. The average person named Roshon today is around 40 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Roshon births was 1972 (14 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Roshon. 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
212
~ 1 in 1,616,766 Americans
Peak year
1972
14 babies that year
Average age
40
years old
2012 SSA rank
#7,448
Tracked since 1967
Census
Roshon in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 287 people with the first name Roshon, which placed it at #30,385 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
#30,385
National first-name rank
People counted
287
287 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
82.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Roshon
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Roshon is Black at 82.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.9%) and Hispanic (4.5%). 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 Roshon 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 Roshon at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American82.6% · 237
- Two or more races4.9% · 14
- Hispanic or Latino4.5% · 13
- White3.5% · 10
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.5% · 10
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 3
Gender
Gender distribution for Roshon
Roshon is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 226 total registrations, 166 (73.5%) were male and 60 (26.5%) were female.
Roshon as a male name
- Ranked #7,448 in 2012
- 11 male births in 2012
- Peak: 1978 (11 births)
Roshon as a female name
- Ranked #8,774 in 1975
- 6 female births in 1975
- Peak: 1969 (11 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Roshon on both sides of the split. Of the 279 people counted with this name, 176 were male (63.1%) and 103 were female (36.9%).
Popularity
Roshon: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Roshon from the 1960s through to the 2010s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 89 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1970s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Roshon 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 Roshon during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Roshons live
Origin
Meaning and history of Roshon
The name Roshon has its origins in the Persian language, tracing back to the ancient Iranian civilization and culture. It is believed to have emerged during the Sassanid Empire, which ruled over Persia and parts of the Middle East from the 3rd to 7th centuries AD.
Roshon is derived from the Persian word "roshan," which means "bright" or "luminous." This connection suggests that the name may have been bestowed upon individuals who were considered bright, intelligent, or enlightened. Alternatively, it could have been given to children born during the day or at dawn, symbolizing the arrival of light.
In ancient Persian texts, such as the Shahnameh (the "Book of Kings"), there are references to individuals bearing names similar to Roshon, indicating its early use in the region. However, direct mentions of the exact spelling "Roshon" are scarce in historical records from that time period.
One of the earliest documented instances of the name Roshon can be traced back to the 11th century, when a Persian poet and philosopher named Roshon al-Din Vatvat lived and wrote. Born in 1089 in Khoy, Iran, he was known for his contributions to Sufi literature and mystical poetry.
Another notable figure with the name Roshon was Roshon Fegan (1991-present), an American actor, singer, and dancer. He gained fame for his roles in various Disney Channel productions, such as the movie "Camp Rock" and the TV series "Shake It Up."
In the 19th century, Roshon Khan (1805-1890) was a prominent Afghan military leader and politician who served as the Governor of Peshawar and played a significant role in the First Anglo-Afghan War.
The name Roshon also appears in Indian history, with Roshon Singh (1858-1933), a prominent Indian freedom fighter and revolutionary who actively participated in the Indian independence movement against British colonial rule.
Lastly, Roshon Jaru (1919-1986) was a renowned Naga folk singer and musician from Nagaland, India, who contributed significantly to the preservation and promotion of Naga cultural heritage through his music.
While the name Roshon has roots in ancient Persia, its use has transcended borders and cultures, with individuals from various backgrounds bearing this name throughout history, each leaving their unique mark on their respective fields and societies.
People
Roshon + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Roshon 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
Roshon: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Roshon?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 212 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Roshon 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 1,616,766 US residents.
Is Roshon a common name?
We classify Roshon as "Very Rare". It ranks above 75% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 226 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Roshon most popular?
The single biggest year for Roshon was 1972, when 14 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Roshon is about 40 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Roshon in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 287 people with the name Roshon, or 0.10 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #30,385 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 Roshon 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 Roshon?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Roshon on both sides of the split. Of the 279 people counted with this name, 176 were male (63.1%) and 103 were female (36.9%). 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 Roshon?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Roshon is Black at 82.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.9%) and Hispanic (4.5%). 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 Roshon most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Roshon in the 2020 Census, accounting for 82.6% (237 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 Roshon in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Roshon a male name?
Yes, 73.5% of people registered as Roshon 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 Roshon still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Roshon 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 Roshon 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 common is the name Roshon?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many Americans are named Roshon at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.