Roland

German

"famous throughout the land"

Roland Origin and Meaning

The name Roland is a boy's name of German origin meaning "famous throughout the land".

Roland is a chivalrous old name made famous by the supposedly eight-foot-tall romantic hero and nephew of Charlemagne, celebrated in medieval poetry and song. It is more widely heard in the US now in its Spanish form, Rolando. You might want to consider rollicking short form Rollo, either on its own or as an abbreviation of Roland. Orlando is the graceful Italian form.

Like other vintage names (Roland was a a Top 100 name in the 1920s), Roland has been fashionable of late.

Roland Rank in US Top 1000

# 662 in the US

Roland Rank in Nameberry Top 1000

# 411 on Nameberry

Popularity of the name Roland

• 662 US 2023
• 411 Nameberry 2025
• 366 Future 2028
• 885 England 2021
• 60 Hungary 2024

20 Names Similar to Roland

These 20 names were selected by our users that were looking for other names like Roland.

• Desmond
• Henrik
• Abram
• Samson
• Conrad
• Seamus
• Solomon
• Duncan
• Byron
• Lionel
• Ruben
• Anton
• Nigel
• Luther
• Quincy
• Julien
• Quentin
• Lloyd
• Saul
• Malcom

Famous People Named Roland

• Roland Gérard Barthes French literary theorist
• Roland Jaime Orzabal (de la Quintana) British singer of band Tears for Fears
• Roland Emmerich German film director
• Roland "Champ" Bailey American football player
• Roland Sato Lee Page aka Yung Ro American rapper
• Roland Doré French sculptor
• Roland Leighton English poet

The name Roland in Pop Culture

• Roland Deschain anti hero of Stephen King's "Dark Tower" series
• Roland Daggett character in DC comics
• Roland Burton character on TV's Army Wives
• Roland Jackson character in animated TV show Extreme Ghostbusters
• Roland LeBay character in Stephen King's "Christine"
• Roland character in The Matrix films
• Roland Character in Catherine Jink's "Pagan" chronicals
• King Roland II character animated TV series "Sofia the First"
• Roland Rat British puppet TV character
• Roland dwarf "cousin" of Sabrina in "Sabrina the Teenage Witch" TV show
• Roland son of Robin Hood and Maid Marian on TV's Once Upon a Time
• Roland Sparks a main character and fallen angel in the 'Fallen' series (Lauren Kate)
• Roland Inness main character in the Longbow Series (Wayne Grant)
• Roland Hallivard character in the "Throne of Glass" book series by Sarah J. Maas
• "Roland " series of video games and their main character
• Roland character in video game Borderlands
• Roland Ginger’s father, character in Ginger and Rosa

International Variations of the name Roland

• Rolando Portuguese
• Roeland Dutch
• Roel Dutch
• Loránd Hungarian
• Orlando Italian
• Rolan Russian
• Rolle Swedish