Roland

What Roland means

Means “fame-land”

From Old French, from Frankish *Hrōþiland (literally “fame-land”).

Source: Wiktionary, “Roland” (revision 94543032), CC BY-SA 4.0. Quoted from the etymology; we don’t write our own.

How popular is Roland?

US: Steady: #588 in 2015, #607 now. England & Wales: Rising: up from #1380 in 2015.

Biggest US share so far: 1931, when 1,697 boys got the name (#107 that year). First in the US records in 1880.

How common

• About 1 in 3,665 baby boys in the US in 2025
• About 1 in 7,770 baby boys in England and Wales in 2025
• About 1 in 6,547 baby boys in Scotland in 2025

“1 in N” divides by all listed births for that sex. The US list leaves out names given to fewer than 5 babies, and the UK lists leave out names given to 2 or fewer, so the real figure is a little rarer than shown.

Where in the US

Most popular in ME (1.82 per 1,000 boys), WI (0.64 per 1,000 boys), UT (0.61 per 1,000 boys) in 2025.

SSA state data, 2025. Share of all listed boys born in each state.

US vs UK

Roland is #607 in the US and #896 in England & Wales (2025).

Same sex as this page (boys). SSA (US), ONS (England and Wales), NRS (Scotland).

Boy or girl?

In 2025, 99.9+% of US babies named Roland were boys.

Counts below the publishing threshold (US 5, UK 3) are not included.

How to say it

Wiktionary only lists the US pronunciation so far.

IPA from Wiktionary.

Other spellings parents chose in 2025

• Ryland382 US
• Rayland36 US
• Rowland16 US · 6 E&W
• Rolland16 US

Names that sound the same and differ by a letter or two, with baby counts for the same sex. US and E&W counts.

If you like Roland

Boys

• Otis#652Editor’s note More popular in England & Wales than the US: #71 vs #652 in 2025
• Warren#240“river, water”^*
• Bo#449Swedish, from Old Norse Búi, meaning “dweller, long-time resident”^*
• Conrad#417“bold, brave + counsel”^*
• Alonzo#511Editor’s note Up from #527 in 2015 to #511 in 2025 in the US
• Lewis#433Same root as Louis, meaning “loud; famous + battle”^*

For a sister

• Louisa#694Form of Louis, meaning “loud; famous + battle”^*
• Alice#65“noble + character”^*
• Zelda#832Editor’s note Down from #648 in 2015 to #832 in 2025 in the US
• Amalia#566“vigor, bravery”^*
• Ada#219“noble”^*
• Adaline#208Form of Adela, meaning “noble”^*

Picked from the US top 1,000 in 2025: names Wiktionary also files under Germanic, whose US popularity since 1990 rose and fell most like Roland’s. Rank is US 2025.