Given name & surname · also Late Latin
Roman
“roman”·“a citizen of Rome”
Roman is used as a given name, a surname, and a nickname. Interpretations include “roman” (Late Latin) and “a citizen of Rome” (Latin). These may reflect different naming traditions.
Original LatinRomanus
Meaning & origin
What it means
Interpretations include “roman” (Late Latin) and “a citizen of Rome” (Latin). These may reflect different naming traditions.
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is Late Latin.
How it developed
Roman developed from Roma.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1882. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Roman through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 105,131
- 104,653 boys · 478 girls
- Most popular year
- 2025
- 6,185 babies
- 2025
- 6,185
- #42 for boys · #5,523 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- +16%
- Rising
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 6,162 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 42 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 15.6% higher in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. It also appeared in 23 birth records for girls in 2025. In 2025, California had the largest reported state-level birth count for boys with this name (874). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 79,669 as a first name in 2020; 72,391 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Roman’s family of names
In Polish usage, Roman has a diminutive in Romeczek. In English usage, Roman has a feminine form in Valeria. Roman has a related form in Romeo.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Roman has relatives in 16 languages. Lines run from its Latin roots to each of them.
Latinwhere Roman comes from · 1 name
Nicknames & forms 25
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
- Romeovariant
- Romevariant
- Romyvariant · English
- Romivariant
- Romavariant
- Romeevariant
- Romievariant
- Romeyvariant
Show 17 moreShow fewer
- Romainevariant
- Deroshort form · English
- Romaynevariant
- Romanusvariant · Latin
- Romanovariant · Italian, Danish
- Romainvariant · French
- Rommanlikely variant
- Romekdiminutive · Polish
- Romeavariant
- Romaenevariant
- Romaenvariant
- Romaynvariant
- Romanosvariant
- Romanesvariant
- Romuśdiminutive · Polish
- Romeczekdiminutive · Polish
- Románekdiminutive · Czech
Spellings & scripts 1
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 15
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
See also 1
Names our sources mention alongside this one. They are related in story or meaning, not forms of this name.
People named Roman
- Roman PolanskiFrench-Polish filmmaker (born 1933)
- Pope Romanuspope
- Roman Herzogformer President of the Federal Republic of Germany (1934–2017)
- Roman JakobsonRussian linguist (1896–1982)
- Roman AbramovichRussian-Israeli oligarch and politicianborn 1966
- Roman PavlyuchenkoRussian footballerborn 1981
- Roman WeidenfellerGerman association football player (born 1980)
- Roman GolovchenkoBelarusian diplomat, politician & bankerborn 1973
- Roman ShirokovRussian footballer (born 1981)
Characters named Roman: Black Mask (supervillain and mob boss appearing in comic books published by DC Comics).
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
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