Given name & surname · also Middle English
Rome
“Rome, Constantinople”
Rome is a surname from Middle English, ultimately from Old French.
Meaning & origin
What it means
Rome goes back to Late Latin Rōma, meaning “Rome, Constantinople.”
Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Where it comes from
Rome comes from Middle English, and ultimately from Old French.
Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)
How it developed
From Middle English Rome, from Old English Rōm, from Proto-West Germanic *Rūmu, from Proto-Germanic *Rūmō, from Late Latin Rōma (“Rome, Constantinople”), from Latin Rōma, from Old French Rome.
Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)
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
Rome through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 6,075
- 5,572 boys · 503 girls
- Most popular year
- 2025
- 760 babies
- 2025
- 760
- #452 for boys · #2,640 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- +194%
- Rising fast
Boys, girls and both
The balance of boys and girls given this name has shifted over time. Recent births are 90% boys.
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 694 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 452 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 206.0% higher in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. It also appeared in 66 birth records for girls in 2025. In 2025, California had the largest reported state-level birth count for boys with this name (99). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 2,513 as a first name in 2020; 4,980 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.
Rome’s family of names
In English usage, Rome as a surname shares an earlier linguistic root with Roma. Rome has a related form in Roman.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 2
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 4
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 10
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
- Romeoequivalent
- Romiequivalent
- Romadoublet · English
- Romelequivalent
- Romenequivalent
- Romeshequivalent
- Romeuequivalent
- Romãoequivalent
Show 2 moreShow fewer
See also 13
Names our sources mention alongside this one. They are related in story or meaning, not forms of this name.
People named Rome
- Rome FlynnAmerican actor, model and musicianborn 1991
- Rome OdunzeAmerican football player (born 2002)
- Rome KandaJapanese actorborn 1965
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Rome, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
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Royce is a unisex given name from Middle English.
93% boys · 7% girls
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69% boys · 31% girls
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79% boys · 21% girls
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74% boys · 26% girls
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95% boys · 5% girls
Hank
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>99% boys
Prince
“the royal son”
>99% boys
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“from the springs”
98% boys · 2% girls