boy's name
Roland
ROH-lund
- Origin Germanic
- Gender Boy
- Syllables 2
- Letters 6
- Popularity Top 1000 (France)
- Births on record 235,404
the United States
#609
2025 births
Roland is a boy's name meaning famous land, and its bearer is the hero of France's national epic — a knight who dies at Roncevaux because he is too proud to blow his horn for help. Our data marks it stable.
- Roland is a name of Germanic origin.
- Peaked in France in 1947, when 3,725 babies were given the name.
- Its usage has held steady over the past decade in France.
- Today about 1 in 29,475 babies in France is given this name.
- First appears in birth records in 1900.
- 2 syllables, with the stress on syllable 1.
Roland over time
Births per decade in France, 1900s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1900s | 3,770 |
| 1910s | 7,390 |
| 1920s | 24,445 |
| 1930s | 30,215 |
| 1940s | 28,765 |
| 1950s | 23,865 |
| 1960s | 9,195 |
| 1970s | 2,695 |
| 1980s | 1,170 |
| 1990s | 545 |
| 2000s | 215 |
| 2010s | 125 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 85 |
What Roland means
Roland means famous land, or renowned throughout the land. The Germanic joins a word for fame to one for land, so the name claims a reputation across territory rather than a personal quality.
Where Roland comes from
Roland is the Germanic Hrodland — hrod, fame or renown, joined to land. Its weight comes almost entirely from the Song of Roland, the oldest surviving major work of French literature, written around 1100 about an ambush in 778. Roland commands Charlemagne's rearguard at Roncevaux, is attacked in the pass, and refuses three times to sound his horn Oliphant for reinforcements because it would shame him; when he finally blows it he bursts his temples and dies. The historical raid was by Basques, not Saracens, and the poem's reworking of it is the point — Olivier, his companion, is written up separately in these pages.
Roland in use
Roland peaked in France in 1947, when 3,725 babies were registered, and our data marks it stable rather than falling. It now ranks 609th in the United States on 466 births, 903rd in England and Wales on 35, 983rd in Ireland and 1653rd in France on 20, across 235,404 lifetime births in five of the seven markets we track. The United States now gives it the strongest position, well ahead of the country whose national epic it belongs to.
How popular is Roland?
In 2025, Roland was given to 20 babies in France. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Where Roland is used
French counts are rounded to the nearest five and nothing below five is published, so these figures show the shape of the name's use rather than an exact tally. Data & sources.
Names that peaked alongside Roland
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Roland also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Roland over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
1 nickname for Roland
Each one is a name in its own right — the figure underneath is how it is doing today, so you can see which short forms are rising and which have faded.
Roland in other languages
The same name as it is spelled elsewhere — not shortenings, and not different names that merely sound alike. Each one has its own record here.
Sibling names for Roland
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Roland — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Roland
What does the name Roland mean?
Famous land — the Germanic hrod, fame, joined to land.
Who was Roland?
The hero of the Song of Roland, who dies at Roncevaux after refusing three times to sound his horn for help.
Is Orlando the same name?
Yes — Orlando is the Italian form of Roland.
How popular is Roland?
609th in the United States, and our data marks it stable.
Is Roland a girl's or a boy's name?
Roland is given almost entirely to boys in birth records.
How many syllables are in Roland?
Roland has 2 syllables.
What are the nicknames for Roland?
Roland is usually shortened to Rollo.
Is Roland a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Roland currently ranks #609 in France. Its usage has held steady over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.