Roxanne
A French feminine name of Persian origin meaning "dawn" or "bright".
Name Census estimates that about 49,000 living Americans carry the first name Roxanne. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Roxanne today is around 52 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Roxanne births was 1954 (2,232 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Roxanne. 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 Roxanne with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Although Roxanne is used almost entirely for girls, the SSA data does show 55 boys registered with the name since 1880.
People living today
49K
~ 1 in 6,995 Americans
Peak year
1954
2,232 babies that year
Average age
52
years old
1988 SSA rank
#1,275
Tracked since 1906
Census
Roxanne in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 52,499 people with the first name Roxanne, which placed it at #864 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
#864
National first-name rank
People counted
52K
52,499 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
17.4
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
66.3% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Roxanne
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Roxanne is White at 66.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (17.1%) and Black (8.9%). 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 Roxanne 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 Roxanne at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White66.3% · 34,798
- Hispanic or Latino17.1% · 8,955
- Black or African American8.9% · 4,672
- Two or more races3.3% · 1,747
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.3% · 1,723
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.2% · 604
Gender
Gender distribution for Roxanne
Out of the 59,414 babies given the name Roxanne since 1880, 99.9% were registered as female. The name sits firmly on the female side of the spectrum, with only a handful of male registrations across the entire dataset.
Roxanne as a male name
- Ranked #5,642 in 1988
- 8 male births in 1988
- Peak: 1987 (11 births)
Roxanne as a female name
- Ranked #1,275 in 2024
- 182 female births in 2024
- Peak: 1954 (2,232 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Roxanne appears almost entirely female. Of the 52,496 people counted with this name, 99.9% were female and only a very small share were male.
Popularity
Roxanne: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Roxanne from the 1900s through to the 2020s, spanning 13 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1950s, with 16,618 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1950s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Roxanne 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 Roxanne during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Roxannes live
The SSA's state-level files cover 51 states and territories. California, Texas, New York recorded the most babies named Roxanne, while Delaware, Alaska, Vermont recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 1,087 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Roxanne
The name Roxanne has its origins in the Persian language, deriving from the word "روشن" (Roshana), which means "bright" or "shining." It emerged during the late antiquity period, around the 3rd to 7th centuries AD, in the region that is now modern-day Iran.
The name gained popularity in Europe during the Middle Ages, particularly in France, where it was influenced by the French word "roux," meaning "red-haired." This association with red hair and brightness contributed to the name's enduring appeal.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Roxanne can be found in the 12th-century French epic poem "Roman de la Rose," where it is used as the name of a character. This literary work played a significant role in popularizing the name across Europe.
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Roxanne. One of the earliest examples is Roxanne of Persia (300 BC – 311 BC), a Bactrian princess and the wife of Alexander the Great. Her marriage to Alexander helped solidify his control over the Persian territories.
Another prominent figure is Roxanne Félix (1786 – 1842), a French dancer and actress who achieved fame during the early 19th century. She was renowned for her performances in various operas and ballets and was celebrated for her grace and beauty.
In the world of literature, Roxanne Buchze (1883 – 1946) was a prolific Dutch writer and poet. She is best known for her contributions to the poetry movement known as the "Tachtigers," which sought to modernize Dutch literature.
The name Roxanne has also been associated with several influential musicians. Roxanne Shanté (born 1969) is an American rapper and hip-hop pioneer, widely regarded as one of the most influential female rappers of the 1980s. Her battle with fellow rapper Roxanne Shante (born 1964) is considered a pivotal moment in the history of hip-hop.
Roxanne Toudouze (born 1963) is a French singer-songwriter and actress who achieved significant success in the 1980s and 1990s with her unique blend of pop, rock, and folk music.
People
Roxanne + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Roxanne 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
Roxanne: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Roxanne?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 49,000 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Roxanne 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 6,995 US residents.
Is Roxanne a common name?
We classify Roxanne as "Uncommon". It ranks above 99.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 59,414 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Roxanne most popular?
The single biggest year for Roxanne was 1954, when 2,232 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Roxanne is about 52 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Roxanne in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 52,499 people with the name Roxanne, or 17.38 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #864 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 Roxanne 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 Roxanne?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Roxanne appears almost entirely female. Of the 52,496 people counted with this name, 99.9% 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 Roxanne?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Roxanne is White at 66.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (17.1%) and Black (8.9%). 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 Roxanne most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Roxanne in the 2020 Census, accounting for 66.3% (34,798 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 Roxanne in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Roxanne a female name?
Yes, 99.9% of people registered as Roxanne 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 Roxanne still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Roxanne 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 Roxanne 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 Roxanne?
Want to know how many people share the name Roxanne? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.