2000
#116,835
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 138
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Rolands
A surname derived from the Germanic name Roland, meaning "famous land".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 130 Americans carry the last name Rolands. That puts it at #147,221 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,636,572 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Rolands surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Rolands with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
130
1 in 2,636,572
Census rank
#147,221
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
113
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 113 bearers of the surname Rolands in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 147221st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Rolands, the largest self-reported group is White at 75.2%. The next largest groups are Black (15.9%) and Two or More Races (5.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Rolands
The surname ROLANDS is of French origin, and it is believed to have originated during the Middle Ages. This surname is derived from the ancient French personal name Roland, which itself comes from the Germanic elements "hrod" meaning "fame" and "land" meaning "territory" or "land." The name Roland gained popularity across Europe due to the legendary figure of Roland, a military leader who fought for Charlemagne in the late 8th century.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the ROLANDS surname can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, which was a comprehensive survey of land ownership in England commissioned by William the Conqueror. The Domesday Book mentions several individuals with the name Rodland or Rodlande, which are believed to be early variations of the modern ROLANDS spelling.
During the medieval period, the ROLANDS surname was particularly prevalent in the regions of Normandy and Brittany in northern France. It is also believed that some individuals with this surname migrated to England and Scotland during the Norman Conquest of 1066, as the name can be found in various historical records from those regions as well.
Notable individuals with the ROLANDS surname throughout history include:
1. Philippe Rolands (c. 1165 - c. 1230), a French nobleman and crusader who participated in the Third Crusade led by King Richard I of England.
2. Jean Rolands (c. 1350 - c. 1425), a French architect and stonemason who worked on the construction of several notable Gothic cathedrals, including the Cathedral of Rouen.
3. Robert Rolands (c. 1480 - c. 1545), an English scholar and translator who produced early English translations of works by classical authors such as Plutarch and Cicero.
4. Marie Rolands (1754 - 1793), a prominent figure during the French Revolution and one of the leading advocates of women's rights in her time. She was executed by guillotine during the Reign of Terror.
5. Charles Rolands (1825 - 1899), a French artist and painter who was part of the Barbizon school of landscape painting, known for his depictions of rural scenes and landscapes.
While the ROLANDS surname has its roots in France, it has since spread to various parts of the world due to migration and cultural exchange over the centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Rolands
Among Census respondents with the surname Rolands, the largest self-reported group is White at 75.2%. The next largest groups are Black (15.9%) and Two or More Races (5.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Rolands bearers 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 surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Rolands surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White75.2% · 85
- Black or African American15.9% · 18
- Two or more races5.3% · 6
- Hispanic or Latino1.8% · 2
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.8% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Rolands
Rolands appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#156,044
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 104
-34 bearers (-24.6%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 39,209 places
2020
#147,221
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 113
+9 bearers (+8.7%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 8,823 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #116,835 | 138 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #156,044 | 104 | 0.04 | -34 bearers (-24.6%) | Down 39,209 places |
| 2020 | #147,221 | 113 | 0.04 | +9 bearers (+8.7%) | Up 8,823 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Rolands surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #156,044 | #147,221 | 5.7% |
| Count | 104 | 113 | 8.7% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -5.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Rolands bearers went from 104 to 113 (+8.7% change). The surname moved up 8,823 positions in the national ranking, going from #156,044 to #147,221.
FAQ
Rolands surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Rolands?
Name Census estimates that about 130 living Americans carry the surname Rolands. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,636,572 residents.
How common is Rolands?
Rolands ranks #147,221 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 113 people with the surname Rolands. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (130), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Rolands.
Has Rolands become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Rolands went from 104 recorded bearers to 113. That is an increase of 9 (+8.7%). In the national ranking it rose from #156,044 to #147,221.
What does the Census say about the background of Rolands?
Among Census respondents with the surname Rolands, the largest self-reported group is White at 75.2%. The next largest groups are Black (15.9%) and Two or More Races (5.3%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Rolands in the 2020 Census, accounting for 75.2% (85 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Rolands appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (75.2%), Black (15.9%), Two or More Races (5.3%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Rolands (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Rolands mean?
A surname derived from the Germanic name Roland, meaning "famous land". The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Rolands (0.04 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people have the last name Rolands?
Want to know how many people are called Rolands? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.