Roosevelt
Where Roosevelt comes from
From a Dutch name of a farm, either Rozenveld (one in Zeeland) or Ruiseveld (one in Brabant), from Middle Dutch; the former could be a compound of rose (“wild rose / poppy?”) + velt (“open country; field”) or like the latter of rusch (“rush reed”) + velt, “open land growing with rushes”.
- 3 syllables
Along the way
- 1895First appearance#609 among boys, 12 babies — the first year at least five got the name.
- 1905Peak, #91264 babies named Roosevelt — more than any year before or since.
- 1906Roosevelt Sykes bornAmerican blues musician
- 1972Roosevelt Skerrit bornPrime Minister of Dominica
- 1991The fadeThe first year with half the peak's births — down to #915.
In the dictionary
- A male given name transferred from the surname, given in honor of the presidents.
Namesakes
- Roosevelt Skerrit · Prime Minister of Dominica, born 1972
- Roosevelt Sykes · American blues musician, 1906–1983
- Roosevelt Roberts · American mixed martial arts fighter, born 1994
- Roosevelt Bouie · American basketball player, born 1958
- Roosevelt Jones · American basketball player, born 1993
Sources: the origin note and dictionary entry are quoted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0); the namesakes come from Wikidata (CC0); the milestones are worked out from the SSA record.