girl's name
Roxanne
rok-SAN
- Origin Persian
- Gender Girl
- Syllables 2
- Letters 7
- Popularity Uncommon
- Births on record 72,695
Northern Ireland
#511
2012 births
Roxanne means dawn or bright, and it is Persian rather than Greek — Alexander married Roxana in Bactria, and she and their son were murdered after his death. Rostand's play fixed the French spelling we use today.
- Roxanne is a name of Persian origin.
- Peaked in 1954, when 2,232 babies were given the name.
- Its usage has held steady over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 19,502 babies in the United States is given this name.
- First appears in US birth records in 1906.
- 2 syllables, with the stress on syllable 1.
Roxanne over time
Births per decade in the United States, 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 | 6 |
| 1910s | 18 |
| 1920s | 71 |
| 1930s | 363 |
| 1940s | 1,987 |
| 1950s | 16,618 |
| 1960s | 13,583 |
| 1970s | 8,174 |
| 1980s | 9,078 |
| 1990s | 4,287 |
| 2000s | 2,154 |
| 2010s | 2,131 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 1,117 |
What Roxanne means
Roxanne means bright, shining or dawn. The Old Persian rauxšna names light or brightness, and the Greek and Latin forms are borrowings rather than translations.
Where Roxanne comes from
Roxanne descends from the Old Persian Raoxshna, brightness or dawn, through the Greek Rhoxane. Alexander married Roxana in 327 BC in what is now Afghanistan; after his death she and their son Alexander IV were held and eventually killed in the succession wars. Rostand's Cyrano de Bergerac of 1897 gave the name its modern currency in French and English alike, and the Police song is named for that character's descendant in popular use.
Roxanne in use
Roxanne peaked in the United States in 1954, when 2,232 babies were registered, and our data marks it stable rather than falling. It now ranks 615th in France on 70 births — its strongest market — then 1313th in the United States on 170 and 1548th in England and Wales on 20, across 72,695 lifetime births in four of the seven markets we track.
How popular is Roxanne?
In 2025, Roxanne was given to 170 babies in the United States. It is used consistently but remains uncommon.
Where Roxanne is used
US figures omit any name given to fewer than five babies in a year, so the rarest names are absent from the source rather than absent from use. Data & sources.
Names that peaked alongside Roxanne
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Roxanne also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Roxanne over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
1 nickname for Roxanne
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.
Roxanne 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 Roxanne
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Roxanne — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Roxanne
What does the name Roxanne mean?
Bright or dawn — the Old Persian rauxšna.
Who was Roxana?
Alexander the Great's wife, married in Bactria in 327 BC and killed with their son after his death.
Is it Greek?
No. Greek borrowed it from Persian; the name is Iranian in origin.
How popular is Roxanne?
615th in France, its strongest market, and 1313th in the United States.
Is Roxanne a girl's or a boy's name?
Roxanne is given almost entirely to girls in birth records.
How many syllables are in Roxanne?
Roxanne has 2 syllables.
What are the nicknames for Roxanne?
Roxanne is usually shortened to Roxy.
Is Roxanne a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Roxanne currently ranks #615 in the United States. Its usage has held steady over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.