Head to head · Boys' names
Reese vs Roland
#602 vs #607 in 2025
Reese is a whisker ahead (#602 vs #607 in 2025), but the curves point different ways: Reese is back after a long quiet spell, Roland is holding its place on the charts.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
The tale of the tape
On the charts, Reese leads 3 measures of 6; Roland leads 2.
Ranks, counts and years are measured in the official US birth record; the classroom and living figures are estimates computed from it. The dot marks the side each measure favours on the charts — more common, not better.
What the records say
146 years of US births, drawn on one scale
Two curves, one scale
Who owned which decade
- 1880s: Reese #670, Roland #253 — Roland higher
- 1890s: Reese #686, Roland #172 — Roland higher
- 1900s: Reese #818, Roland #154 — Roland higher
- 1910s: Reese #878, Roland #128 — Roland higher
- 1920s: Reese #967, Roland #106 — Roland higher
- 1930s: Reese #1110, Roland #117 — Roland higher
- 1940s: Reese #1095, Roland #157 — Roland higher
- 1950s: Reese #1052, Roland #204 — Roland higher
- 1960s: Reese #1030, Roland #242 — Roland higher
- 1970s: Reese #1249, Roland #331 — Roland higher
- 1980s: Reese #1133, Roland #415 — Roland higher
- 1990s: Reese #733, Roland #588 — Roland higher
- 2000s: Reese #418, Roland #740 — Reese higher
- 2010s: Reese #631, Roland #630 — Roland higher
- 2020s: Reese #655, Roland #630 — Roland higher
Roland stood higher in 14 of 15 decades; Roland has held the lead since the 2010s.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Reese | Roland |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | #670 | #253 |
| 1890s | #686 | #172 |
| 1900s | #818 | #154 |
| 1910s | #878 | #128 |
| 1920s | #967 | #106 |
| 1930s | #1110 | #117 |
| 1940s | #1095 | #157 |
| 1950s | #1052 | #204 |
| 1960s | #1030 | #242 |
| 1970s | #1249 | #331 |
| 1980s | #1133 | #415 |
| 1990s | #733 | #588 |
| 2000s | #418 | #740 |
| 2010s | #631 | #630 |
| 2020s | #655 | #630 |
Average national rank across each decade. A dash means the name sat outside the recorded top of that decade.
The names themselves
Meaning, roots, sound and the people who carried each
Where each name comes from
Reese
Ardor, enthusiasm; fiery zeal
The Welsh root rhys is usually glossed as ardor or enthusiasm, and often rendered in name books as "fiery" or "ardent".
Rhys → Rees → Reese
How it traveled
The name begins in Wales as Rhys, borne by princes of the medieval Welsh kingdoms and common enough among ordinary Welsh families that it hardened into surnames — Rees, Reese, Rice, and Preece, from ap Rhys, "son of Rhys". Those surnames crossed the Atlantic with Welsh emigrants and settled into American records, where Reese became the usual spelling.
Roland
most often read as "famous land" or "renowned throughout the land"
The first element is agreed on: Germanic hrod, "fame, renown". The second is where scholars part company — most read it as land, giving "renowned land"; others take it from nand, "bold, daring", giving something closer to "famously brave". Both readings are old and respectable.
Hrodland → Hruodlandus → Rolant (Old French) → Roland → Orlando
How it traveled
The name is Germanic, formed from hrod ("fame") and a second element read as either "land" or "bold". Its most famous early bearer is documented: Hruodlandus, a Frankish commander of the Breton March under Charlemagne, killed in a rearguard ambush at Roncevaux in the Pyrenees in 778.
Where a reading is contested the note says so — this page does not turn a guess into a fact. The chain is each name's recorded forms, oldest first; the story is its opening, told in full on the name's own page.
Out loud, and in short
Reese
REESS
One syllable, rhyming with peace. The final sound is a hissed s, not a z; the same pronunciation covers Reece, Rees and Welsh Rhys.
- Reesie — Affectionate home form, mostly used with young children.
- Ree — Informal clipping; rare, since the full name is already one syllable.
- Rhys — Not a nickname but the Welsh original — some families use it as the formal written form.
Roland
ROH-lənd
Stress on the first syllable in English. French speakers say roh-LAHN with a nasal ending, and the Italian relatives Orlando and Rolando shift the stress to the middle — worth knowing if the family is bilingual.
- Rollie — The most common English short form; informal, and used as a standalone name in its own right by some families.
- Roly — Informal, chiefly British spelling of the same short form.
- Ro — A one-syllable clip, informal and mostly used within families.
- Lando — Used more with Rolando and Orlando than with Roland, but available; informal.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Reese if you want…
- a name on the way upup 128 places on the charts in five years
- a name with fewer syllablesReese is 1 syllable to Roland's 2
Choose Roland if you want…
- a name holding steadyRoland is holding its place on the charts
- a name with more sound in itRoland runs 2 syllables, Reese 1
Each line is a measured difference between the two names — a rank, a count, a recorded form — never a judgement of either. Save the one that answers your question; it lands on your shortlist.
The trade-offs, name by name
Reese
Strengths
- One syllable, one clear sound — easy to say, easy to hear across a playground, and it needs no shortening.
- Instantly familiar to Americans as a word and a surname, so it is read correctly on sight even by people meeting it for the first time.
- A documented line back to medieval Welsh Rhys, which gives it real depth for families with Welsh roots.
To consider
- In the US, Reese is also the name of a very well-known peanut butter candy, spelled identically. Most children shrug it off, but expect the joke at some point.
- Four spellings compete — Reese, Reece, Rees, Rhys — so the name will often be spelled back to you wrong even when it is heard right.
- Most American Reeses are girls, so a boy called Reese may be assumed female on paperwork and rosters, even though the boys' line is the older one.
Roland
Strengths
- A spelling almost everyone can already read and write, unchanged in English for centuries.
- One of the deepest paper trails a name can have: an eighth-century Frankish commander, a medieval French epic, and continuous use since.
- Works across French, German, Dutch, Italian and Spanish with only small adjustments — Roland, Roeland, Rolando, Orlando.
To consider
- The name is far more strongly represented among older generations than among children, so it may be read as a grandfather's name before it is read as a baby's. That cuts both ways: it is recognizable to everyone and worn by almost no toddlers.
- It gets misheard as Ronald and misspelled as Rowland, both of which are real names in their own right. Expect to repeat it on the phone.
- Roland is also a well-known Japanese maker of synthesizers and drum machines, so a search of the name brings up keyboards before people. Musicians will notice; most others will not.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
With your last name
Say both in full. The notes are facts about letters and sound — a rhyme, a shared initial, the monogram — not a verdict on either name.
Type a last name to hear Reese and Roland in full.
Weighing the whole shortlist? Run the full comparison — up to eight names with your last name, initials, classroom projections and a printable report.
Decide together
Nobody names a baby alone
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More head-to-heads
Same measures, different pair. Sixty more are dealt daily in the arena.
Lists that carry both names
Every list here names both Reese and Roland — the same style, ranked by the same records.
Reese or Roland — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Reese or Roland?
- Reese, in 2025: Reese ranked #602 with 475 babies; Roland ranked #607 with 466 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Reese or Roland?
- Reese. Over the last five years Reese moved up 128 places; Roland moved down 37 places.
- Which is the older name, Reese or Roland?
- The US record cannot say: both were already in use when it began in 1880.
- How many people are named Reese and Roland?
- About 17,500 people named Reese are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 47,500 people named Roland are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Reeses or Rolands in the classroom?
- Reese will almost certainly be the only one in school. Roland will almost certainly be the only one in school.
US figures from the Social Security Administration, 1880–2025. Votes are battle voters on this site, not the birth record. Data & methodology
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