Roux
A French name derived from the red-brown color.
Name Census estimates that about 459 living Americans carry the first name Roux. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 76.0% of registrations being female. The average person named Roux today is around 6 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Roux births was 2023 (61 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Roux. 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 Roux with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
459
~ 1 in 746,741 Americans
Peak year
2023
61 babies that year
Average age
6
years old
2024 SSA rank
#3,551
Tracked since 2011
Gender
Gender distribution for Roux
Roux is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 462 total registrations, 111 (24.0%) were male and 351 (76.0%) were female.
Roux as a male name
- Ranked #6,729 in 2024
- 13 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2021 (19 births)
Roux as a female name
- Ranked #3,551 in 2024
- 44 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2023 (47 births)
Popularity
Roux: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Roux from the 2010s through to the 2020s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2020s, with 274 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Roux 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 Roux during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Roux' live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. California, Pennsylvania, Texas recorded the most babies named Roux, while Texas, Pennsylvania, California recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 10 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Roux
Roux is a French given name derived from the Old French word "rous" meaning "red-haired" or "reddish-brown." Its origins can be traced back to medieval times when it was commonly used as a descriptive nickname or surname for individuals with reddish hair or complexions.
The name's linguistic roots extend further back to the Latin word "russus," which also carried the meaning of "red" or "reddish." This Latin term eventually evolved into various Romance language forms, including the Old French "rous" and the modern French "roux."
One of the earliest recorded instances of Roux as a given name can be found in the 12th century, when it appeared in the medieval French epic poem "La Chanson de Roland" (The Song of Roland). In this literary work, a character named Roux is mentioned as one of the knights accompanying Charlemagne.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Roux. One such figure was Roux de Marsilly (c. 1370-1440), a French nobleman and military commander who fought in the Hundred Years' War. Another was Roux de Rochelle (c. 1510-1560), a French Huguenot pastor and theologian during the Protestant Reformation.
In the 18th century, Roux de Laborie (1716-1796) was a French naval officer and explorer who led expeditions to the Caribbean and South America. Roux de Rochelle (1789-1854), a 19th-century French architect, was responsible for designing several notable buildings in Paris, including the Church of St. Vincent de Paul.
More recently, Roux Renard (1912-1983) was a French painter and illustrator known for his vibrant depictions of Parisian street life and café scenes.
While the name Roux has its roots in French culture and language, it has also been adopted in other parts of the world, particularly in regions with historical French influence or connections. However, its origins and associations with red hair or complexion remain an integral part of its meaning and historical significance.
People
Roux + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Roux 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
Roux: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Roux?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 459 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Roux 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 746,741 US residents.
Is Roux a common name?
We classify Roux as "Very Rare". It ranks above 83.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 462 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Roux most popular?
The single biggest year for Roux was 2023, when 61 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Roux is about 6 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
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 Roux in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Roux a female name?
Yes, 76.0% of people registered as Roux 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 Roux still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Roux 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 Roux 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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people have Roux as a first name?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.