Roxana is a feminine given name of Persian origin. It means "dawn" or "light". The name comes from the ancient Persian word "raxsat", which means dawn. Roxana was also the name of a noblewoman in Central Asia who married Alexander the Great and bore him a son named Hercules.
The name Roxana has been used for centuries, but it gained popularity in the English-speaking world during the Victorian era when it was used by several notable figures such as writer Henry James' sister, Alice James, who went by the nickname "Roxy". The name has also been featured in literature and popular culture, most notably in the play "The Bounty" by Peter Barnes and the novel "Captain Blood" by Rafael Sabatini.
Today, Roxana remains a unique and elegant name choice for parents looking for something different but still classic. Its meaning of dawn or light makes it a fitting name for a child who brings brightness into your life. Despite its Persian origins, Roxana has been adopted by many cultures around the world as a beautiful and meaningful name option.
Based on the statistics provided, we can observe the trends and patterns of the name Roxana in the United States from 1882 to 2023.
The name Roxana first appeared in the U.S. Social Security Administration's baby name database in 1882 with five births that year. The number of births remained consistent at five for two more years until it rose to eleven in 1889. After that, there was a period of fluctuation between five and six births per year up until 1906.
From 1907 onwards, the number of babies named Roxana began to increase steadily. The highest number of births recorded during this time was twenty-two in both 1934 and 1935. This trend continued throughout the 1930s and into the early 1940s, with a peak of forty-two births in 1944.
However, after World War II, there was another shift in popularity for the name Roxana. The number of births began to decline, reaching as low as forty-five in 1957. This decrease continued through most of the 1960s and early 1970s, with fifty-five births recorded in 1966 being one of the lowest points.
Nevertheless, popularity for the name Roxana started to rebound again during the late 1970s. In 1980, there were 126 births, which increased significantly over the next few years, peaking at 315 births in 1991. This period marked a significant rise in popularity for the name Roxana.
However, this trend was short-lived as popularity began to decline once more from 1992 onwards. The number of births dropped below 200 between 1997 and 2003, with only 198 babies named Roxana born in 2003. This continued decline persisted until 2006 when there were 221 births.
Since then, the popularity of the name Roxana has remained relatively consistent, ranging from around 100 to 200 births per year. In recent years, there have been 97 births in 2021, 94 in 2022, and 88 in 2023.
In conclusion, based on the statistics provided, we can see that the name Roxana has had several periods of popularity throughout its history in the United States. While it started with a modest five births per year in the late 19th century, it reached its peak popularity in the early 1990s with over 300 births recorded annually. Since then, popularity has leveled off and remained relatively stable, with around 100-200 births each year until recent times.