How Many People Are Named Roberta?
An estimated 79,667 people in the United States have the first name Roberta. It is predominantly female (99.5%). The average bearer is 68 years old, and Roberta peaked in popularity in 1953 with 4,310 births that year.
Below you will find a full statistical profile of Roberta as a first name in the United States, including gender data, a year-by-year popularity timeline going back to 1880, a decade breakdown, and state-by-state birth registrations. You can also check how many people share the full name Roberta paired with any surname.
Key Insights
- While Roberta is overwhelmingly female, 782 male births have been registered with this name since 1880.
- With an average bearer age of 68, Roberta is a vintage name most associated with earlier generations. Most living bearers were born before 1968.
- Roberta has fallen dramatically from its peak in the 1940s. Recent registrations are less than 5% of what they were at the name's height.
Estimated Living Americans
79,667
About 1 in 4,302 people in the U.S.
Rarity
Uncommon
Predicted Gender
Female
99.5% confidence
Average Age
68
years old
Peak Year
1953
4,310 births
Total Registered
172,267
since 1880
Gender Distribution for Roberta
Roberta is almost exclusively a female name. Out of 172,267 total births registered, 99.5% were female.
Roberta as a male name
Ranked #5,720 in 1990
9 male births in 1990
Peak: 1943 (22 births)
Roberta as a female name
Ranked #2,760 in 2024
62 female births in 2024
Peak: 1953 (4,299 births)
Roberta: Popularity Over Time
SSA records for Roberta span from the 1880s to the 2020s, covering 15 decades of naming data. The most popular decade for this name was the 1940s, when 38,202 babies were registered. Roberta has declined significantly from its peak in the 1940s. Recent registrations are a fraction of what they were at the name's height.
Roberta by Decade
How has Roberta tracked across different eras? The table below groups all SSA birth registrations into 10-year periods, with separate male and female counts. The colored bar shows each decade's share relative to the peak.
| Decade | Total | Male | Female | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1880s | 541 | 0 | 541 | |
| 1890s | 1,120 | 0 | 1,120 | |
| 1900s | 2,372 | 0 | 2,372 | |
| 1910s | 10,408 | 38 | 10,370 | |
| 1920s | 18,325 | 106 | 18,219 | |
| 1930s | 27,881 | 150 | 27,731 | |
| 1940s | 38,202 | 152 | 38,050 | |
| 1950s | 38,026 | 111 | 37,915 | |
| 1960s | 21,199 | 98 | 21,101 | |
| 1970s | 8,152 | 58 | 8,094 | |
| 1980s | 3,341 | 60 | 3,281 | |
| 1990s | 1,308 | 9 | 1,299 | |
| 2000s | 548 | 0 | 548 | |
| 2010s | 564 | 0 | 564 | |
| 2020s | 280 | 0 | 280 | |
Roberta by State
Birth registrations for Roberta span all 51 states and territories in the SSA database. The highest counts are in New York, California, Pennsylvania. The lowest are in Nevada, Delaware, Alaska. On average, about 3,231 Robertas were registered per state.
Roberta + Last Name Combinations
How many people share a full name with Roberta as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Names Similar to Roberta
Other first names starting with R with a similar number of bearers.
Roberta: Questions and Answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Roberta?
We estimate approximately 79,667 people named Roberta are alive in the United States today. This is based on SSA birth records from 1880 to 2024, adjusted for mortality using CDC life tables. About 1 in 4,302 Americans share this first name.
Is Roberta a common name?
Roberta is classified as "Uncommon" and is more popular than 99.4% of all first names in the SSA database. A total of 172,267 births have been registered with this name since 1880.
When was Roberta most popular?
Roberta reached peak popularity in 1953, when 4,310 babies were given this name. The average age of a living person named Roberta is approximately 68 years old, reflecting when the name was most commonly given.
Is Roberta a female name?
Roberta is predominantly female. 99.5% of people with this name are female. See the gender breakdown above for full details.
How many Roberta Smiths are there?
To find how many people share a specific full name, we combine first name and surname frequencies. Try: Roberta Smith, Roberta Johnson, Roberta Williams. You can also search any combination on our homepage.
Where does this data come from?
Our estimates use Social Security Administration birth records (1880 to 2024), adjusted for survival using CDC 2023 life tables broken down by sex. The U.S. population figure (342,754,338) is from the Census Bureau's July 2025 estimate. Full methodology.
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