Roscoe
Roscoe was given to 63 boys in 2025, #2,248 among boys’ names; 22,170 Americans have been recorded with it since 1880 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 6,500 Americans named Roscoe and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (29% of everyone recorded); the median is 59 years old and half are between 34 and 74.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Roscoe by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Roscoe mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Roscoe is “a male given name transferred from the surname.” Its etymology gives the senses “roebuck” (rá) and “forest” (skógr).
From a place in Lancashire, from Old Norse rá (“roebuck”) + skógr (“forest”).
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Roscoe?
#2,248 among boys’ names, 2025
Roscoe fell from #2,033 in 2015 to #2,248 in 2025 among boys’ names; its share of boys born fell from 37.0 to 36.9 per million.
604 babies in 1920, the peak
Roscoe peaked in 1920, when 604 boys were given it, #214 among boys’ names. The 63 births of 2025 are 10% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 63 | #2,248 | 0.04 |
| 2024 | 67 | #2,185 | 0.04 |
| 2023 | 63 | #2,268 | 0.04 |
| 2022 | 81 | #1,934 | 0.05 |
| 2021 | 79 | #1,926 | 0.05 |
| 2020 | 80 | #1,867 | 0.05 |
| 2019 | 77 | #1,929 | 0.04 |
| 2018 | 82 | #1,850 | 0.05 |
| 2017 | 63 | #2,168 | 0.03 |
| 2016 | 64 | #2,161 | 0.03 |
Every recorded year (146)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 71 | #2,033 | 0.04 |
| 2014 | 71 | #2,015 | 0.04 |
| 2013 | 60 | #2,198 | 0.03 |
| 2012 | 55 | #2,349 | 0.03 |
| 2011 | 47 | #2,619 | 0.02 |
| 2010 | 44 | #2,777 | 0.02 |
| 2009 | 42 | #2,883 | 0.02 |
| 2008 | 47 | #2,667 | 0.02 |
| 2007 | 33 | #3,365 | 0.02 |
| 2006 | 29 | #3,588 | 0.01 |
| 2005 | 38 | #2,832 | 0.02 |
| 2004 | 40 | #2,678 | 0.02 |
| 2003 | 35 | #2,831 | 0.02 |
| 2002 | 36 | #2,668 | 0.02 |
| 2001 | 30 | #3,041 | 0.02 |
| 2000 | 33 | #2,788 | 0.02 |
| 1999 | 32 | #2,710 | 0.02 |
| 1998 | 25 | #3,165 | 0.01 |
| 1997 | 22 | #3,324 | 0.01 |
| 1996 | 22 | #3,271 | 0.01 |
| 1995 | 34 | #2,332 | 0.02 |
| 1994 | 40 | #2,070 | 0.02 |
| 1993 | 31 | #2,436 | 0.02 |
| 1992 | 45 | #1,830 | 0.02 |
| 1991 | 49 | #1,687 | 0.02 |
| 1990 | 44 | #1,801 | 0.02 |
| 1989 | 58 | #1,444 | 0.03 |
| 1988 | 45 | #1,609 | 0.02 |
| 1987 | 54 | #1,374 | 0.03 |
| 1986 | 68 | #1,150 | 0.04 |
| 1985 | 52 | #1,347 | 0.03 |
| 1984 | 56 | #1,235 | 0.03 |
| 1983 | 71 | #1,057 | 0.04 |
| 1982 | 75 | #1,057 | 0.04 |
| 1981 | 80 | #1,020 | 0.04 |
| 1980 | 77 | #1,037 | 0.04 |
| 1979 | 70 | #1,068 | 0.04 |
| 1978 | 81 | #966 | 0.05 |
| 1977 | 73 | #1,010 | 0.04 |
| 1976 | 85 | #902 | 0.05 |
| 1975 | 66 | #1,017 | 0.04 |
| 1974 | 85 | #878 | 0.05 |
| 1973 | 72 | #955 | 0.05 |
| 1972 | 75 | #927 | 0.05 |
| 1971 | 74 | #954 | 0.04 |
| 1970 | 88 | #860 | 0.05 |
| 1969 | 75 | #883 | 0.04 |
| 1968 | 85 | #808 | 0.05 |
| 1967 | 91 | #767 | 0.05 |
| 1966 | 109 | #712 | 0.06 |
| 1965 | 91 | #775 | 0.05 |
| 1964 | 112 | #727 | 0.06 |
| 1963 | 123 | #700 | 0.06 |
| 1962 | 137 | #667 | 0.07 |
| 1961 | 131 | #675 | 0.06 |
| 1960 | 157 | #622 | 0.07 |
| 1959 | 174 | #592 | 0.08 |
| 1958 | 154 | #618 | 0.07 |
| 1957 | 188 | #563 | 0.09 |
| 1956 | 178 | #569 | 0.08 |
| 1955 | 171 | #564 | 0.08 |
| 1954 | 186 | #531 | 0.09 |
| 1953 | 199 | #496 | 0.10 |
| 1952 | 233 | #461 | 0.12 |
| 1951 | 210 | #468 | 0.11 |
| 1950 | 234 | #435 | 0.13 |
| 1949 | 206 | #460 | 0.12 |
| 1948 | 235 | #437 | 0.13 |
| 1947 | 225 | #447 | 0.12 |
| 1946 | 222 | #428 | 0.14 |
| 1945 | 227 | #397 | 0.17 |
| 1944 | 250 | #379 | 0.18 |
| 1943 | 241 | #395 | 0.17 |
| 1942 | 226 | #406 | 0.16 |
| 1941 | 277 | #351 | 0.23 |
| 1940 | 213 | #391 | 0.18 |
| 1939 | 233 | #374 | 0.21 |
| 1938 | 224 | #376 | 0.20 |
| 1937 | 220 | #369 | 0.21 |
| 1936 | 241 | #348 | 0.23 |
| 1935 | 237 | #358 | 0.23 |
| 1934 | 273 | #328 | 0.26 |
| 1933 | 270 | #326 | 0.27 |
| 1932 | 268 | #336 | 0.26 |
| 1931 | 261 | #338 | 0.25 |
| 1930 | 352 | #303 | 0.32 |
| 1929 | 349 | #298 | 0.32 |
| 1928 | 344 | #300 | 0.31 |
| 1927 | 372 | #301 | 0.33 |
| 1926 | 405 | #283 | 0.36 |
| 1925 | 455 | #267 | 0.41 |
| 1924 | 443 | #271 | 0.39 |
| 1923 | 476 | #259 | 0.43 |
| 1922 | 505 | #250 | 0.46 |
| 1921 | 550 | #238 | 0.50 |
| 1920 | 604 | #214 | 0.57 |
| 1919 | 586 | #213 | 0.60 |
| 1918 | 561 | #221 | 0.55 |
| 1917 | 468 | #232 | 0.51 |
| 1916 | 494 | #217 | 0.56 |
| 1915 | 505 | #210 | 0.60 |
| 1914 | 361 | #221 | 0.55 |
| 1913 | 301 | #214 | 0.59 |
| 1912 | 264 | #210 | 0.61 |
| 1911 | 127 | #228 | 0.56 |
| 1910 | 136 | #194 | 0.70 |
| 1909 | 107 | #203 | 0.65 |
| 1908 | 97 | #211 | 0.63 |
| 1907 | 95 | #205 | 0.65 |
| 1906 | 90 | #196 | 0.68 |
| 1905 | 87 | #200 | 0.66 |
| 1904 | 98 | #184 | 0.76 |
| 1903 | 69 | #218 | 0.58 |
| 1902 | 90 | #185 | 0.73 |
| 1901 | 87 | #171 | 0.82 |
| 1900 | 96 | #198 | 0.64 |
| 1899 | 84 | #173 | 0.79 |
| 1898 | 73 | #205 | 0.60 |
| 1897 | 74 | #198 | 0.66 |
| 1896 | 84 | #195 | 0.70 |
| 1895 | 91 | #174 | 0.78 |
| 1894 | 90 | #170 | 0.78 |
| 1893 | 88 | #165 | 0.78 |
| 1892 | 96 | #165 | 0.79 |
| 1891 | 71 | #182 | 0.70 |
| 1890 | 99 | #145 | 0.89 |
| 1889 | 83 | #164 | 0.75 |
| 1888 | 141 | #117 | 1.2 |
| 1887 | 102 | #128 | 1.0 |
| 1886 | 88 | #159 | 0.79 |
| 1885 | 98 | #138 | 0.91 |
| 1884 | 92 | #149 | 0.80 |
| 1883 | 92 | #138 | 0.88 |
| 1882 | 81 | #168 | 0.71 |
| 1881 | 102 | #118 | 1.0 |
| 1880 | 90 | #152 | 0.81 |
Ranks and shares: boys’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all boys SSA recorded that year.
Is Roscoe a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Roscoe has been given almost only to boys: 11 girls in 146 years of records.
Girls and boys named Roscoe: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Roscoe, and how old are they?
6,500 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 29% of the 22,170 Americans ever recorded as Roscoe. The median Roscoe alive today is 59 years old; half are between 34 and 74.
The 2020 Census counted 5,963 people named Roscoe (28 women and girls, 5,935 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 7,276 born in the U.S. The Census count is 18% below that prediction. Possible reasons: people who give a short form or another name to the Census, and a survival estimate that can run high.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 840 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 2,230 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 1,140 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 780 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 579 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 920 |
An estimate, not a count. SSA’s files count people born in the United States who received a Social Security number, so anyone born abroad is not in them; before 1937 most people got a number as adults, and their survival is counted from that age.
Living estimate: SSA births carried forward with the survival rates in SSA’s cohort life tables (2024 Trustees Report) for each birth year and sex. How the estimate is made. Count: Census Bureau, first names in the 2020 Census (released April 14, 2026; names reported 100 or more times, with the Bureau’s disclosure-avoidance adjustment).
Where are babies named Roscoe born?
The states with the most babies named Roscoe are North Carolina, Kentucky and Georgia, with 26% of its births recorded by state since 1910; Kentucky is not among the ten states with the most births.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, boys | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| North Carolina | 1,472 | not ranked | 2.3× |
| Kentucky | 1,253 | not ranked | 2.8× |
| Georgia | 1,120 | not ranked | 1.9× |
| Texas | 1,038 | not ranked | 0.9× |
| Virginia | 854 | not ranked | 1.8× |
| Illinois | 653 | not ranked | 0.6× |
| South Carolina | 640 | not ranked | 1.7× |
| Indiana | 638 | not ranked | 1.3× |
| West Virginia | 617 | not ranked | 2.2× |
| Mississippi | 574 | not ranked | 1.6× |
Where Roscoe is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Roscoe is most over-represented in Kentucky: since 1910 it was given 2.8 times as often there as its national share each year would predict.
States: SSA state file, 1910-2025, published May 8, 2026; births count girls and boys together, and the rank is among boys’ names in the state in 2025. The file leaves out any state and year with fewer than 5 babies of the name, so small states are undercounted; each ratio compares the state’s births of Roscoe with the births its national share predicts year by year, for states with at least 100 births of the name.
Names spelled alike
Of these 2 names spelled alike, given to 23,610 babies since 1880, Roscoe is the most given (94% of them). In 2025 it was given to 63 of their 70 babies (90%), again the most given.
Spelled alike: names in the SSA national file with the same pattern of letters and sounds and at most two letters apart, and Wiktionary’s listed forms; births since 1880 and in 2025, and each name’s peak year, from the SSA national file, published May 8, 2026. Some are separate names, not spellings of one.
Names that rose and fell in the same decades as Roscoe
Names whose births rose and fell across the same decades, measured on each decade’s share of births.
Similar histories: each decade’s share of births, from the SSA national file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
More about Roscoe and names like it
- Compare Roscoe and RoscoBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1920sRoscoe peaked in 1920.
- North Carolina’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Roscoe since 1910.
- From surnamesWiktionary’s origin for Roscoe: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 1920The year the most babies were named Roscoe.
- The names of the Baby BoomersMost people named Roscoe alive today were born 1946-1964.
- Names starting with RMost given first.