Fun Facts About the Name Roxanne
- More than 59 thousand babies named Roxanne: U.S. records list 59,584 babies given the name Roxanne from 1880 through 2025. Even 55 boys received the name Roxanne - about 1 boy for every 1,082 girls.
What Does the Name Roxanne Mean?
Roxanne is an English form of Roxana (also Roxane), a name that reached Western Europe through Greek and Latin but originated in Old Iranian. The Greek form was Rhoxane (Ῥωξάνη), used for the Bactrian princess who married Alexander the Great. That Greek name is generally traced to a reconstructed Old Iranian word *Rauxšna- or *Raoxšna-, from a root meaning "bright, shining." Related forms include Avestan raoxšna- ("bright, shining") and modern Persian روشن (rošan, "bright"). Name references often give the meaning as "dawn"; the literal etymological sense is "bright, shining," while "dawn" is a customary interpretation. The name is also linked with Persian روشنک (Rošanak), a related feminine form, though the exact Old Iranian source and its nuance are reconstructed rather than directly recorded.
Roxanne Name History & Origins
The historical Roxana was a Bactrian princess, daughter of Oxyartes. Alexander the Great married her around 327 BC, after his campaign in Sogdiana; ancient Greek and Roman writers describe her as a political wife in his court. After Alexander died in 323 BC, she gave birth to his son, Alexander IV. During the wars among Alexander's successors, Roxana and her son were caught between rival generals; they were eventually killed by Cassander's order around 310 BC. Her name was recorded in Greek as Rhoxane and in Latin as Roxana, and it survived in historical and literary texts.
From Latin, the name passed into European languages. French uses Roxane; English commonly uses the spelling Roxanne. The name appears in Daniel Defoe's 1724 novel Roxana: The Fortunate Mistress, and Edmond Rostand used the French form Roxane for the heroine of his 1897 play Cyrano de Bergerac. In modern English, Roxanne is also familiar from the 1978 song "Roxanne" by the Police, a cultural association rather than an early source of the name.
How Popular is the Name Roxanne?
Roxanne recorded its highest annual U.S. birth count in 1954. Its best rank was #158 in 1954.
U.S. name popularity from 1880-2025, based on SSA data. Rank shows how the name compares with other names - lower numbers mean greater popularity. Births shows how many babies received the name each year.
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #1,315 | 170 | 0.0106% |
| 2024 | #1,275 | 182 | 0.0113% |
| 2023 | #1,321 | 172 | 0.0107% |
| 2022 | #1,372 | 169 | 0.0103% |
| 2021 | #1,177 | 208 | 0.0127% |
| 2020 | #1,125 | 215 | 0.0133% |
| 2019 | #1,189 | 198 | 0.0118% |
| 2018 | #1,267 | 183 | 0.0108% |
| 2017 | #1,249 | 190 | 0.0110% |
| 2016 | #1,284 | 188 | 0.0106% |
| 2015 | #1,323 | 180 | 0.0101% |
| 2014 | #1,169 | 211 | 0.0118% |
| 2013 | #993 | 253 | 0.0144% |
| 2012 | #1,036 | 245 | 0.0139% |
| 2011 | #1,021 | 245 | 0.0139% |
| 2010 | #1,053 | 236 | 0.0133% |
| 2009 | #1,018 | 258 | 0.0140% |
| 2008 | #1,106 | 234 | 0.0124% |
| 2007 | #1,198 | 211 | 0.0110% |
| 2006 | #1,181 | 207 | 0.0109% |
| 2005 | #1,064 | 225 | 0.0122% |
| 2004 | #1,046 | 222 | 0.0121% |
| 2003 | #1,148 | 189 | 0.0103% |
| 2002 | #1,083 | 197 | 0.0110% |
| 2001 | #1,130 | 186 | 0.0103% |
| 2000 | #951 | 225 | 0.0124% |
| 1999 | #896 | 237 | 0.0134% |
| 1998 | #833 | 256 | 0.0145% |
| 1997 | #783 | 266 | 0.0153% |
| 1996 | #672 | 330 | 0.0188% |
| 1995 | #640 | 340 | 0.0193% |
| 1994 | #599 | 376 | 0.0211% |
| 1993 | #527 | 459 | 0.0254% |
| 1992 | #431 | 585 | 0.0317% |
| 1991 | #404 | 634 | 0.0338% |
| 1990 | #336 | 803 | 0.0423% |
| 1989 | #277 | 975 | 0.0529% |
| 1988 | #218 | 1,191 | 0.0669% |
| 1987 | #250 | 1,021 | 0.0587% |
| 1986 | #302 | 811 | 0.0473% |
| 1985 | #285 | 878 | 0.0510% |
| 1984 | #317 | 749 | 0.0445% |
| 1983 | #288 | 818 | 0.0490% |
| 1982 | #277 | 880 | 0.0520% |
| 1981 | #285 | 852 | 0.0511% |
| 1980 | #285 | 870 | 0.0524% |
| 1979 | #278 | 879 | 0.0548% |
| 1978 | #308 | 760 | 0.0496% |
| 1977 | #316 | 751 | 0.0490% |
| 1976 | #329 | 679 | 0.0463% |
| 1975 | #309 | 744 | 0.0510% |
| 1974 | #317 | 722 | 0.0492% |
| 1973 | #322 | 702 | 0.0481% |
| 1972 | #288 | 883 | 0.0580% |
| 1971 | #279 | 1,036 | 0.0623% |
| 1970 | #289 | 1,013 | 0.0579% |
| 1969 | #268 | 1,090 | 0.0646% |
| 1968 | #267 | 1,016 | 0.0619% |
| 1967 | #268 | 1,004 | 0.0608% |
| 1966 | #245 | 1,186 | 0.0701% |
| 1965 | #242 | 1,271 | 0.0720% |
| 1964 | #241 | 1,324 | 0.0699% |
| 1963 | #220 | 1,527 | 0.0792% |
| 1962 | #219 | 1,515 | 0.0770% |
| 1961 | #202 | 1,724 | 0.0854% |
| 1960 | #193 | 1,920 | 0.0950% |
| 1959 | #202 | 1,707 | 0.0844% |
| 1958 | #205 | 1,586 | 0.0788% |
| 1957 | #198 | 1,774 | 0.0868% |
| 1956 | #172 | 2,114 | 0.1053% |
| 1955 | #165 | 2,092 | 0.1070% |
| 1954 | #158 | 2,232 | 0.1149% |
| 1953 | #179 | 1,763 | 0.0937% |
| 1952 | #187 | 1,578 | 0.0851% |
| 1951 | #234 | 1,080 | 0.0600% |
| 1950 | #297 | 682 | 0.0398% |
| 1949 | #436 | 331 | 0.0193% |
| 1948 | #471 | 290 | 0.0171% |
| 1947 | #503 | 270 | 0.0152% |
| 1946 | #517 | 232 | 0.0148% |
| 1945 | #519 | 198 | 0.0151% |
| 1944 | #549 | 175 | 0.0132% |
| 1943 | #566 | 179 | 0.0128% |
| 1942 | #724 | 107 | 0.0079% |
| 1941 | #662 | 115 | 0.0095% |
| 1940 | #733 | 90 | 0.0079% |
| 1939 | #865 | 66 | 0.0060% |
| 1938 | #903 | 62 | 0.0056% |
| 1937 | #949 | 54 | 0.0051% |
| 1936 | #949 | 53 | 0.0051% |
| 1935 | #1,350 | 30 | 0.0029% |
| 1934 | #1,474 | 26 | 0.0025% |
| 1933 | #1,543 | 24 | 0.0024% |
| 1932 | #1,623 | 23 | 0.0022% |
| 1931 | #2,192 | 15 | 0.0014% |
| 1930 | #3,019 | 10 | 0.0009% |
| 1929 | #3,352 | 9 | 0.0008% |
| 1928 | #3,126 | 10 | 0.0009% |
| 1927 | #3,818 | 8 | 0.0007% |
| 1926 | #2,850 | 12 | 0.0010% |
| 1925 | #3,615 | 9 | 0.0007% |
| 1923 | #3,317 | 10 | 0.0008% |
| 1922 | #4,926 | 6 | 0.0005% |
| 1920 | #4,326 | 7 | 0.0006% |
| 1919 | #4,186 | 7 | 0.0006% |
| 1918 | #4,731 | 6 | 0.0005% |
| 1913 | #3,619 | 5 | 0.0008% |
| 1906 | #1,917 | 6 | 0.0020% |
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1988 | #5,642 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 1987 | #4,189 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 1985 | #7,377 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1983 | #7,122 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1981 | #7,074 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1970 | #5,307 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1961 | #3,994 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1959 | #4,479 | 5 | 0.0002% |
| 1956 | #4,375 | 5 | 0.0002% |
Name popularity over more than a century, based on Social Security Administration data. Gaps in the chart indicate years when the name does not appear in the published records.
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How the Name Roxanne Shapes Your Personality and Life?
You are a law unto itself. Your tendency is to finish whatever you start. You are tolerant and like to help humanity. You are very active. You are generally warmhearted and gives freely of your time, energy, and sympathetic understanding. You have tolerance and acceptance of the frailties of others. Universal and humanitarian in outlook. This is very compassionate name. You are frank, methodical and believe in law, system and order.
You are always looking for a chance to do your own thing, to be your own person, and to have things done your own way.
✦ Roxanne's Deeper Meaning & Tips for Parents Discover Roxanne's symbolic numbers and practical tips for choosing a name that complements your child's birth date.