Rolan vs Rollie
American parents have registered 3,594 Rollies since 1880, against 1,084 Rolans. But in 2025 it was Rolan that was commoner, 17 babies to 13.
Babies given each name, 1880–2025
Rolan Rollie
Each line is every baby given the name that year, girls and boys added together — the only count that means the same thing for both names. A line breaks where the name fell below five babies in a year — the point at which the SSA stops publishing it — rather than being drawn through a figure nobody published. A single published year in a gap shows as a dot.
Who was ahead
Of the 146 years in which either name was published, Rollie for 115 years and Rolan for 31 years. The lead changed hands 13 times.
- 1880–1983 Rollie ahead, apart from one short spell
- 1984–1987 Rolan ahead
- 1988–1999 Rollie ahead, apart from 2 short spells
- 2004–2025 Rolan ahead
7 shorter spells of a year or two are folded into the spans above rather than listed separately.
Side by side
| Rolan | Rollie | |
|---|---|---|
| Total US births | 1,084 | 3,594 |
| Most in one year | 33 | 67 |
| Babies in 2025 | 17 | 13 |
| Estimated living today | 770 | 1,300 |
| Median age today | 18 | 63 |
| Peak year | 2021 | 1947 |
| Best rank | 3,427th boys | 842nd boys |
| Rank in 2025 | 5,399th | 6,446th |
| First recorded | 1915 | 1880 |
| Girls / boys | 0 / 1,084 | 24 / 3,570 |
A rank is a position within one sex’s list for one year, so the two rank rows are not subtracted from one another and the winning column is not marked on them. The living figure is a life-table estimate, not a count.
Which name is older
Half of the Rollies alive today are over 63; half the Rolans are over 18. That is 45 years between them: two names in use at the same time, worn by two different generations.
Where each one is strongest
How much commoner the name is in that state than it is nationally, from births recorded since 1910.
Compare something else
Related comparisons
Social Security Administration birth records, 1880–2025, public domain. Full histories: Rolan and Rollie.