How common is the surname Roland?

19,311 people in the United States had the surname Roland in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 15,988 Americans. It ranked 1,860th of 162,253 surnames.

Who is the most famous person named Roland?

Gilbert Roland, American film actor (1905–1994), followed by Ruth Roland.

Where is the surname Roland most common?

Wikidata records people named Roland in Mexico and the United States.

How do you pronounce Roland?

Roland is /ˈɹoʊlənd/, 2 syllables.

Is the surname Roland getting more or less common?

More common. 18,742 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 19,311 in 2010, up 3.0%.

Is Roland also a first name?

Yes. Roland is used as a first name as well as a surname; its first-name page has the meaning and how many babies were given it.

The surname Roland

A surname, carried by 19,311 people in the United States.

Pronounced /ˈɹoʊlənd/ 2 syllables Soundex R453 Also a first name

Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). Roland is more common than 98.9% of them.

Origin

From Old French, from Frankish *Hrōþiland (literally “fame-land”). Name of a paladin of Charlemagne in medieval French romance. Doublet of Orlando.

Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

How common it is

2010 US Census

There were 19,311 people named Roland in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 15,988 Americans. That is up 3.0% since 2000, when the Census counted 18,742.

#1,860

rank among US surnames

19,311

people in 2010

6.5

per 100,000 Americans

+3%

change since 2000 (was #1,752)

Rank	Surname	People	1 in
#1,851	Whitman	19,399	15,916
#1,852	Burkett	19,369	15,940
#1,853	Koehler	19,368	15,941
#1,854	Christiansen	19,340	15,964
#1,855	Sheldon	19,339	15,965
#1,856	Pritchett	19,334	15,969
#1,857	Paulson	19,331	15,972

Who is named Roland

Race and Hispanic origin as people reported it in the 2010 Census

71% of people named Roland identified as white (not Hispanic), 22% as Black (not Hispanic) and 3.3% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).

White (not Hispanic) 71%
Black (not Hispanic) 22%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 3.3%
Two or more races 2.3%
American Indian and Alaska Native 0.8%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.6%

Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

Famous Rolands

2 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

Gilbert Roland
American film actor (1905–1994)
Ruth Roland
American actress (1892–1937)

Notable Rolands come mostly from Mexico (1) and the United States (1).

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Surnames that sound like Roland

Roland has the Soundex code R453, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code R453.

Questions

Where does the surname Roland come from?: From Old French, from Frankish *Hrōþiland (literally “fame-land”). Name of a paladin of Charlemagne in medieval French romance. Doublet of Orlando.
How common is the surname Roland?: 19,311 people in the United States had the surname Roland in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 15,988 Americans. It ranked 1,860th of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname Roland?: In the 2010 Census, 71% of people named Roland identified as white (not Hispanic), and 22% as Black (not Hispanic).
Who is the most famous person named Roland?: Gilbert Roland, American film actor (1905–1994), followed by Ruth Roland.
Where is the surname Roland most common?: Wikidata records people named Roland in Mexico and the United States.
How do you pronounce Roland?: Roland is /ˈɹoʊlənd/, 2 syllables.
Is the surname Roland getting more or less common?: More common. 18,742 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 19,311 in 2010, up 3.0%.
Is Roland also a first name?: Yes. Roland is used as a first name as well as a surname; its first-name page has the meaning and how many babies were given it.