Recorded 1912–1960 Boys' name Peak 1928 189 births

Roald — boys' name

189 babies named Roald in U.S. Social Security records since 1912, with the highest year being 1928. Year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state-level rankings drawn from federal birth data.

1910s281920s761930s451940s211950s111960s8
1920s
Peak decade

40% of everyone ever named Roald was born in this single decade.

1928
Single peak year

18 babies were named Roald in 1928 — its busiest year on record.

What the Data Says About Roald

The Social Security Administration has registered 189 babies named Roald between 1912 and 1960, spanning 49 consecutive years of U.S. birth records. As a boy's name, Roald currently falls outside the top 1,000 boys' names for 1960. The name reached its historical peak in 1928, when 18 babies received it in a single year.

Decade-level aggregation shows that Roald performed strongest in the 1920s, accumulating 76 births during that ten-year window. Across the 6 decades of recorded activity, Roald shows a clear decline from its mid-century high. Geographically, the name is most concentrated in Minnesota, which accounts for 6 births — the largest state-level total in the dataset — followed by . In total, SSA state-level files list Roald in 1 of the 51 U.S. reporting jurisdictions.

No etymological entry is currently available for Roald in our reference dataset. These figures derive from SSA's annual national and state-level name files, which include any name appearing at least five times in a given year or state-year; names below that threshold are suppressed for privacy and therefore excluded from the totals shown here. The 189 total represents a lower bound — actual usage may be higher in years or states where the count fell below the disclosure floor. This page is provided for informational and research purposes only and does not constitute personal, legal, or naming advice.

Roald at a glance

Last recorded 1960

Total births

189

Since 1912

49 years of records

Peak year

1928

18 births that year

Strongest decade: 1920s

Current rank

Unranked

Outside the modern top-1,000

As of 1960

Active since

1912

Recorded for 49 years

Last year on file: 1960

Roald popularity over time

Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1960–1912

Last recorded 1960
Peak year (1928)
18
Annual births at peak — across 49 years of records
05101520 196019471940193319301927192419141912 10

Roald by decade

Total births in each ten-year window — peak vs trough at a glance

Peak: 1920s
Peak decade
1920s
76 births that decade — 40% of Roald's all-time total
1910s281920s761930s451940s211950s111960s8

Roald by state

Where Roald concentrates geographically — total births since 1912

Geographically diffuse
Top 1 states by recorded births for the name Roald
Rank State Visual share Births Share of total
#1 Minnesota
6 3.2%
Minnesota share of Roald's total US births 3.2%

6 of 189 births nationwide.

Frequently Asked Questions

How popular is the name Roald?
189 babies have been named Roald since 1912. It was last recorded in 1960. The peak year was 1928 with 18 births.
When was Roald most popular?
Roald was most popular in the 1920s decade with 76 total births. The single peak year was 1928.
Where is Roald most popular?
The top states for the name Roald are Minnesota (6 births).
How long has the name Roald been used?
Roald has been recorded in Social Security data since 1912, spanning 49 years of data through 1960.
What names are similar to Roald?
Names with a similar sound or spelling include Roan, Roark, Roarke, Roanin, and 4 more. These share a common prefix and are also used for boys.

Data Sources

Data as of 2024. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA).

Primary: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names from Social Security Card Applications — National Data, 1912–1960 (ssa.gov/oact/babynames). National-level data includes all names with 5 or more occurrences in a given year.

State-level: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names — State-Level Files (namesbystate.zip). Includes all names with 5 or more occurrences per state per year; rarer names are excluded for privacy.