# Ross (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/ross/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. US counts from the Social Security Administration; England and Wales counts from the Office for National Statistics; meaning and etymology from Wiktionary. Data updated 2026-11-11.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Usually given to | boys |
| Origin | Scottish Gaelic |
| Meaning | “promontory”, “moor”, “heath”, “fame”, “heathland”, “promontory.”, “horse” |
| Pronunciation | /ɹɔs/, 1 syllable |
| Nicknames | Rossy |
| Variant spellings | Rosse |
| US babies named this | 82,293 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 81,872 / 421 (1% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 7,755, 1996 to 2025 |

## Etymology

* As a Scottish surname, from several places such as Roose in Cumbria or Roos in Yorkshire, both from Scottish Gaelic ros (“promontory”) or a Brythonic parallel of its source such as Welsh rhos (“moor, heath”). There were also several Norman families in Scotland who took their name from Rots in Calvados. Compare Rose, Rhodes. * As an English surname, from Wrose in Shipley, with loss of initial w. * As an English and German surname, from derivatives of the old Germanic root common in names *hrōþi (“fame”). Compare Rossell. * As a Cornish surname, from several places in Cornwall deriving from ros (“heathland”), related to the above Celtic word meaning "heath" or "promontory." See Rouse. * As a Jewish and German occupational surname for a breeder of horses, from the regional/poetic noun Ross (“horse”). Doublet of horse. * Also as a Jewish surname, Americanized from Rose.

## What it means

Ross is grouped under famous and horse.

## Popularity

The last 15 years of each series. A year is missing when too few babies were given the name for the agency to publish it: five in the US, three in England and Wales.

### United States, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1985 | 14 | 5,286 |
| 1986 | 16 | 4,910 |
| 1987 | 7 | 9,568 |
| 1988 | 15 | 5,538 |
| 1989 | 10 | 7,900 |
| 1990 | 9 | 9,065 |
| 1991 | 6 | 12,745 |
| 1999 | 5 | 16,357 |
| 2000 | 5 | 17,047 |
| 2003 | 6 | 15,365 |
| 2004 | 6 | 15,684 |
| 2015 | 8 | 12,787 |
| 2017 | 6 | 15,574 |
| 2021 | 7 | 13,222 |
| 2023 | 5 | 17,137 |

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 214 | 934 |
| 2012 | 212 | 955 |
| 2013 | 194 | 1,011 |
| 2014 | 185 | 1,064 |
| 2015 | 160 | 1,165 |
| 2016 | 191 | 1,040 |
| 2017 | 162 | 1,162 |
| 2018 | 177 | 1,108 |
| 2019 | 134 | 1,346 |
| 2020 | 136 | 1,324 |
| 2021 | 148 | 1,286 |
| 2022 | 151 | 1,280 |
| 2023 | 116 | 1,527 |
| 2024 | 139 | 1,361 |
| 2025 | 122 | 1,465 |

### England and Wales, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 58 | 594 |
| 2012 | 56 | 625 |
| 2013 | 45 | 720 |
| 2014 | 51 | 659 |
| 2015 | 71 | 538 |
| 2016 | 54 | 647 |
| 2017 | 50 | 701 |
| 2018 | 42 | 777 |
| 2019 | 33 | 894 |
| 2020 | 13 | 1,723 |
| 2021 | 21 | 1,250 |
| 2022 | 19 | 1,366 |
| 2023 | 10 | 2,160 |
| 2024 | 6 | 3,254 |
| 2025 | 12 | 2,014 |

## People named Ross

- Ross Barkley, English association football player (born 1993)
- Ross Lynch, American actor and singer
- Ross Perot, American businessman and politician (1930–2019)
- Ross Brawn, British automotive engineer
- Ross Turnbull, English footballer (born 1985)
- Ross Marquand, American actor
- Ross Ulbricht, American founder and administrator of the illicit online marketplace the Silk Road
- Ross Alexander, American actor (1907–1937)
- Ross the Boss, American guitarist (1954-2026)
- Ross Hutchins, British tennis player
- Ross Thomas, American actor
- Ross Robinson, American record producer (born 1967)

## How to read these numbers

A count is babies registered with that name in that year, not people alive now, so a name common a century ago can have a large total and few recent births.