Rowland
Masculine · “Famous throughout the land”
Rowland is the English surname spelling of Roland, and the ow records something real: medieval English said the first vowel as a diphthong, which is why the surname and the given name diverged in writing while staying close in sound.
How old is the name Rowland?
Rowland was already in use when US birth records began in 1880 — it is at least 145 years old. The typical Rowland alive today was born around 1941, making them about 84 years old. About 1,900 people named Rowland are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Rowland most popular?
Rowland peaked in 1903, reaching #487 nationally. Today it ranks #5608, 5,121 places below that high. See the whole 1903 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From Hrodland to Rowland
The story of Rowland
Roland died at Roncevaux in 778 and the Chanson de Roland made him the model knight; the name came to England with the Normans and was ordinary through the Middle Ages, where English spelling settled on Rowland. It generated the surname, and Rowland Hill, who introduced the penny post and the adhesive postage stamp in 1840, is among the most consequential bearers. As an American given name Rowland belongs to the nineteenth-century surname wave and peaks in 1903, and it has been rare since 1940.
Meaning
Famous throughout the land
From the Germanic Hrodland, from hrod, fame or renown, and land. The reading is settled and both elements are transparent. Rowland is the medieval English spelling that became the standard surname form, while Roland was restored as the given-name spelling from the French; the two are the same name.
How the name formed
- Hrodland
- Roland
- Rowland
Related forms: Roland · Roland · Orlando · Rolando
Pronouncing Rowland
ROH-lund
Two syllables, stress on the first. The ow is a long o rather than a diphthong in modern English, so Rowland and Roland are identical in speech.
Nicknames for Rowland
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
- 1880
- Most boys named
- 192483 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #487reached in 1903
- Change vs 2022
- −46.7%16 in 2025, from 30
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.
Rowland in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Roland in English — spelling variant
- Roland in French — related form
- Orlando in Italian — related form
- Rolando in Spanish — related form
Rowlands among us
people named Rowland are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 106,755 born in 2025 was named Rowland
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
Rowland 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
Rowland beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Rowland in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- The Germanic meaning is settled and unusually good.
- Rowley works as a warm English short form.
- It has a genuine medieval English spelling history.
- Roland is the commoner given-name spelling and will be written for it.
- The ow invites the misreading ROW-land with a diphthong.
- It is strongly dated to the years around 1900.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Rowland 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 Rowland? Hide it among decoys and let them guess.
What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Rowland
Masculine · #5608 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Rowlands are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 1,900 people named Rowland are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Rowland in 2025?
- Rowland ranks #5608 among US boy names in 2025, with 16 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Rowland?
- About 1 in every 106,755 US boys born in 2025 was named Rowland — 16 in all.
- Will my child share the name Rowland with classmates?
- Rowland will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Rowland
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Rolland#5608 · Llewellyn#5608 · Arlie#5608 · Gerrit#5608 · Vinson#5608 · Georgie#5608 · Wally#5608 · Webb#5608
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Rowland? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Rowland 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