Humanverse

Romona vs Romulo

American parents have registered 5,175 Romonas since 1880, against 842 Romulos. But in 2025 it was Romulo that was commoner, 8 babies to 5.

Babies given each name, 1880–2025

Births per year: Romona against Romulo, 1880 to 2025 0 40 80 120 160 1880 1900 1920 1940 1960 1980 2000 2020

Romona Romulo

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 115 years in which either name was published, Romona for 81 years and Romulo for 34 years. The lead changed hands 7 times.

Side by side

  Romona Romulo
Total US births 5,175842
Most in one year 14818
Babies in 2025 58
Estimated living today 3,400670
Median age today 6336
Peak year 19551993
Best rank 788th girls3,501st boys
Rank in 2025 14,942nd8,910th
First recorded 19081912
Girls / boys 5,175 / 00 / 842

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 Romonas alive today are over 63; half the Romulos are over 36. That is 27 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: Romona and Romulo.