Roosevelt
Masculine · “rose field”
Roosevelt is overwhelmingly a boys’ name — 37,661 boys against 363 girls since 1880.
Roosevelt is Dutch, and it means a field of roses. It came to America with a family from the Netherlands in the seventeenth century and stayed a surname for two hundred years before children began receiving it.
How old is the name Roosevelt?
Roosevelt first appears in US birth records in 1895 — 130 years ago. The typical Roosevelt alive today was born around 1943, making them about 82 years old. About 17,000 people named Roosevelt are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Roosevelt most popular?
Roosevelt peaked in 1905, reaching #91 nationally. Today it ranks #4249, 4,158 places below that high. See the whole 1905 chart.
Roosevelt appears on this list:
Where it comes from
Origin, sound and short forms
The story of Roosevelt
Two presidents carried this surname within forty years of each other, and the second of them governed through a depression and a world war. Among Black American families in particular the name was given widely to sons in that period, a deliberate act of naming towards a figure associated with relief and with the promise of a fairer settlement. That is why the name appears in the birth records as a first name at all: it did not drift there, it was chosen.
Meaning
rose field
From Dutch roos, 'rose', and veld, 'field'. The family that carried it to New Amsterdam spelled it several ways before it settled, which is ordinary for Dutch surnames in early American records.
Pronouncing Roosevelt
ROH-zuh-velt
Three syllables, stress on the first. The family itself said ROSE-uh-velt, and that is the pronunciation that stuck in American English.
Nicknames for Roosevelt
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
- 1895
- Most boys named
- 1932832 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #91reached in 1905
- Change vs 2022
- −11.1%24 in 2025, from 27
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.
Roosevelt in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Roosevelt in Dutch — same name
Strongest US states over the last decade: Florida, Texas, California.
Roosevelts among us
people named Roosevelt are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 71,170 born in 2025 was named Roosevelt
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
Roosevelt 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
Roosevelt beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Roosevelt in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- A clear and pleasant literal meaning, rose field, that survives translation intact.
- It carries a deliberate history: for many families this name was a statement, not a fashion.
- Dutch in origin, which is a thinner seam in American naming than German or Irish and so stands out.
- It is long, three syllables, and unmistakably a surname; a child will be asked about it often.
- The name points at two specific presidents, and anyone who carries it inherits whatever the listener thinks of them.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Roosevelt to the vote.
Add it to a family vote or a couple’s swipe deck — the other person gets one card, a simple answer and room to say why. No app, no account for them.
Only the people you invite can see your list.
Already decided on Roosevelt? Hide it among decoys and let them guess.
What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Roosevelt
Masculine · #4249 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Roosevelts are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 17,000 people named Roosevelt are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Roosevelt in 2025?
- Roosevelt ranks #4249 among US boy names in 2025, with 24 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Roosevelt?
- About 1 in every 71,170 US boys born in 2025 was named Roosevelt — 24 in all.
- Will my child share the name Roosevelt with classmates?
- Roosevelt will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Roosevelt
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Guadalupe#4249 · Denny#4249 · Hughes#4249 · Erling#4249 · Rodrick#4249 · Elric#4249 · Ron#4249 · Wright#4249
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Roosevelt? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Roosevelt and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
Compare side by sideIn a hurry? Just pick a winner — one tap, no sign-up, and you see how everyone else voted.
Weighing a whole shortlist? Add the rest in the builder, or settle it with a bracket.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
No advertising trackers and no data sellinghow we handle your dataindependent and founder-run, about Name Battle