Roma
Masculine
Roma is given to both — 576 boys and 8,286 girls since 1880. See Roma as a girl nameSee other names given to both
Nobody knows why Rome is called Rome. The Romulus story is the answer the Romans gave themselves, and it runs backwards: the city was named first and the founder was invented to explain it. The likeliest real source is Etruscan, from a clan name, Ruma.
How old is the name Roma?
Roma first appears in US birth records in 1891 — 134 years ago. The typical Roma alive today was born around 1932, making them about 93 years old. About 200 people named Roma are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Roma most popular?
Roma peaked in 1891, reaching #841 nationally. Today it ranks #8910, 8,069 places below that high. See the whole 1891 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From Ruma to Roma
The story of Roma
Eponymous ancestors are one of antiquity's standard methods of explaining a name, and they are almost always inventions. Romulus explains Rome. Hellen explains the Hellenes, and his sons Dorus, Aeolus and Xuthus explain the Dorians, Aeolians and Ionians. Israel explains the Israelites. Brutus of Troy was invented to explain Britain, and Francus to explain the Franks. The method is transparent once you see it: take the name of a people or a place, strip it to a plausible personal form, and supply a biography. Ancient writers did this without embarrassment because they had no other tool for historical linguistics. The pattern is worth knowing because it is still with us in popular name books, where a name of unknown origin routinely acquires a founder, a meaning and a story, all constructed after the fact and in the same order.
Meaningnot established
Not established
The origin of Roma is not established. The leading proposal derives it from the Etruscan family name Ruma; others connect it to a word for a river or to an old name for the Tiber. The traditional derivation from Romulus is the reverse of the historical order, since the founder's name is formed from the city's. The American peak of the male given name is 1891.
How the name formed
- Ruma
- Roma
Related forms: Roma · Roma
Pronouncing Roma
ROH-mah
Two syllables, stress on the first. Italian says the same. It is also the endonym of the Romani people, an unrelated word from Romani rom, a man.
Nicknames for Roma
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1891
- Most boys named
- 191919 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #841reached in 1891
- Change vs 2024
- +33.3%8 in 2025, from 6
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Roma in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Roma in Italian — same name
- Roma in Latin — same name
Romas among us
people named Roma are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 213,510 born in 2025 was named Roma
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
Fashion outlook
Roma sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Roma beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Roma in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- Four letters and two syllables, easy everywhere.
- It names one of the most recognizable cities in the world.
- Romy works as a diminutive.
- It is now used far more often for girls.
- It is also the self-name of the Romani people, from a different word.
- The origin of the city's name is genuinely unknown.
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What they receive
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Roma
Masculine · #8910 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Romas are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 200 people named Roma are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Roma in 2025?
- Roma ranks #8910 among US boy names in 2025, with 8 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Roma?
- About 1 in every 213,510 US boys born in 2025 was named Roma — 8 in all.
- Will my child share the name Roma with classmates?
- Roma will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Roma
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Davie#8910 · Ned#8910 · Darious#8910 · Alois#8910 · Len#8910 · Barton#8910 · Desmon#8910 · Winfield#8910
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Roma? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Roma and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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