Boy · Germanic
Roland
Say it: ROH-lund
Meaning
From Germanic hrod 'fame' and land 'land'.
Certainscholars agree on this meaning.
Popular in medieval England through the Song of Roland.
Its wave through time
Fading since the 1930s
In the United States
- 99,022 babies given this name since 1880
- At its height in 1931, about 1 in 612 boys
- 487 babies in 2020
Through the ages
- The High and Late Middle Ages1100 to 1450
- The Renaissance1400 to 1600
- Victorian and Belle Époque1837 to 1914
- The Modern Age1880 to today
Used by
The family of the name
Other spellings: Rowland
| German | Roland |
|---|---|
| French | Roland |
| Italian | Orlando |
| Spanish | Rolando |
| Dutch | Roeland |
Famous bearers
- Roland, hero of the Song of Roland
Names worth a look
Where this comes from
- Well-known works of literature
- English poll taxes and lay subsidy rolls (13th and 14th centuries)
- Medieval European charters and records
- United States Social Security birth records, 1880 to today source
Meanings and histories are compiled from the study of names and their languages and checked by a second review.
Meanings and histories are drawn from the study of names and their languages, each with a confidence rating; popularity figures come from official birth records. Name histories are a living field: if you know of a correction, we would be glad to hear it.