Roger

Spellings & scripts●

Locally spelled רוג'ר in FR France, IL Israel.

Spellings marked ● are how people bearing the name write it in our records; ○ marks a model's transliteration. Click a spelling to open its page.

Meaning & origin●

Attested across 4 languages in the etymology graph.

Languages●

Language is read off each record's context, not declared by the bearer; a share is of all records for this spelling.

Other names spelled this way◐

Roger is also recorded as 8 other names, grouped separately because the records behind them do not connect to the one described above.

• Portuguese given name3.6M records spelled Roger85 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Brazil, France, United States, Peru

  Languages: Portuguese, French, Spanish

  Also written Rogerio, Rogério, Róger, Rogèrio, Rögër

• a separate given name87K records spelled Roger4 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Ecuador

  Also written Róger, Röger, Rogér

• Polish given name33K records spelled Roger48 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Poland, United States, Czechia, United Kingdom

  Languages: Polish, Russian, Czech

  Also written Rodger, Роджер, Рогер, Rodzher, Рожер

• Indonesian given name18K records spelled Roger5 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, Indonesia, Philippines, Malaysia

  Languages: Indonesian, Malay, Malagasy

  Also written Rogér, Róger

• Finnish given name17K records spelled Roger6 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Finland, United States, Sweden, United Kingdom

  Languages: Finnish, Estonian

  Also written Rõgêr, Róger, Röger, Rõgèr

• Greek given name10K records spelled Roger3 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Greece, United States, United Kingdom, Canada

  Also written Rotzer, Ροτζερ

• Italian given name8.3K records spelled Roger9 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, Italy, United Kingdom, Canada

  Languages: Italian, Hindi, Urdu

  Also written Ruggero, Rùggero, Rogér, Röger, Ruggéro

• Thai given name8.1K records spelled Roger18 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Thailand, United States, Laos, United Kingdom

  Languages: Thai, Lao

  Also written โรเจอร์, Roche, Rogier, โรเช่, โรเช

95 further groups record this spelling and are not listed here.

Grouping is the name graph's, not a register's: two spellings join a group when the evidence links them, so a group is a claim about the records rather than about the people.

Other recorded senses●

Roger is also recorded in 5 other lexicons, as a different name or as an ordinary word. These are senses of the spelling, not of the name above.

• In English, from OFr Roger/Rogier, OG Ro(d)ger ‘fame-spear’; first attested Rogerus marescalcus 1066 DB (Ess)

  as a name·A Dictionary of English Surnames

• In Irish, Germanic ‘fame spear’; used in Ireland to anglicise Rory; borne by patriot Roger Casement.

  as a name·Irish first names

• In Spanish, from Germanic *hrod- 'fame' + *gari- 'spear'

  as a name·Deutsche Namenkunde: Unsere Familiennamen nach ihrer Entstehung und Bedeutung

• In English, From Welsh Roser/Rosser < Roger; earliest citation 1292: Cadugan ap Roser.

  as a name·Welsh Surnames

• In French, a male given name, from Old French Rogier (itself from Old Frankish), which was borrowed into English as Roger

  as a word·kaikki.org Wiktionary extract (IPA + transliterations)

Ordered by how much of this spelling's record each language holds, so a sense from a language the name is barely used in sits last rather than first.

Over time●

US SSA — National Baby Names (1880–present) — 146 years between 1880–2025. One register's own figures, never a sum across registers: two registers counting the same people would double them.

Notable people with this name●

• Ruggero IIb. 1095ITnot in their usual nameKing of Sicily from 1130 to 1154
• Roger Baconb. 1220GBEnglish polymath, philosopher and friar (c.1219/20–c.1292)
• Roger Martin du Gardb. 1881FRFrench writer (1881–1958)
• Roger Garaudyb. 1913FRFrench philosopher, politician and Holocaust denier (1913-2012)
• Roger Mooreb. 1927GBEnglish actor (1927–2017)
• Roger Vadimb. 1928FRFrench filmmaker (1928–2000)
• Roger Penroseb. 1931GBEnglish mathematical physicist, recreational mathematician and philosopher
• Roger Bruce Myersonb. 1951USAmerican economist
• Hervé Renardb. 1968FRnot in their usual nameFrench association football coach
• Roger Federerb. 1981CHSwiss tennis player (born 1981)

The ten people covered by the most Wikipedia language editions — a proxy for cross-cultural notability, which favours historical and Western figures over equally prominent contemporary ones — shown by birth year. Source: Wikidata (CC0).

Evidence●

Register rows as of the 2026-09-12 data build · 1,700 rows in the corpus for this spelling.

Frequently asked questions

How common is the name Roger?

We estimate roughly 415 thousand people bear Roger (counting its spellings and scripts) across 11 countries in our records.

In which country does Roger have the most bearers?

Roger is most frequently recorded in the United Kingdom, where it is most often spelled roger.

Where is Roger most common?

Measured as a share of residents rather than as a count, Roger is densest in Sweden — about 1 in 279 people — even though United Kingdom holds more of our records for it.

How common is Roger compared with other names?

In the United Kingdom, Roger is the 111th most common given name of 369,273 given names recorded there.

Is Roger a male or female name?

Roger is a male name in our records. Opposite-gender entries fall within the cross-gender noise we measure in the source data, so we don't report them as usage.

What does the name Roger mean?

Recorded meaning: From the Norman personal name Roger/Rogier, of Germanic origin meaning 'fame-spear'.