Explore the Family Name Romanov

The meaning of Romanov

1. Russian, Belorussian, Bulgarian, and Macedonian: patronymic from the personal name Roman. Compare Romanoff. 2. Jewish (from Belarus): habitational name from the town Romanovo, now in Belarus. History: Romanov is a name of the last ruling dinasty of Russia. The Romanov dynasty began its rule in 1613 with Michael Romanov (died 1645), and ended with the execution of Nicholas II and his family at Yekaterinburg in July 1918. The family were descended from a Muscovite boyar, Andrei Kobyla, who had emigrated in the 14th century from Prussia. They took the name from Roman Yurievich (died 1543), whose daughter Anastasia Romanovna was the first wife of Ivan the Terrible. Her brother Nikita was regent after Ivan’s death, and after years of disorder Nikita’s grandson Michael Romanov was elected czar in 1613.

Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.

How common is the last name Romanov in the United States?

Based on the Decennial U.S. Census, the popularity of the surname Romanov has significantly increased from 2000 to 2010. The rank of this surname improved from 58692 in 2000 to 45105 in 2010, indicating a change of 23.15 percent. In terms of count, there were 323 individuals with the surname Romanov in 2000 which increased to 475 by 2010, showing an impressive growth rate of 47.06 percent. The proportion per 100,000 people also rose from 0.12 to 0.16 over this decade, marking a change of 33.33 percent.

20002010Change
Rank#58,692#45,10523.15%
Count32347547.06%
Proportion per 100k0.120.1633.33%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Romanov

The ethnic identity associated with the surname Romanov has also seen changes between 2000 and 2010 according to the Decennial U.S. Census. In 2000, 91.02 percent identified as White which increased to 94.95 percent by 2010. The percentage of those identifying as Asian/Pacific Islander was zero in 2000 but grew to 1.47 percent in 2010. However, the proportion of those identifying themselves as two or more races dropped significantly from 7.74 percent in 2000 to 1.26 percent in 2010. The surname, in 2010, also saw an introduction of Hispanic ethnicity at 2.32 percent, which was not present in 2000. There were no individuals who identified as Black or American Indian and Alaskan Native in either year.

20002010Change
White91.02%94.95%4.32%
Hispanic0%2.32%0%
Asian/Pacific Islander0%1.47%0%
Two or More Races7.74%1.26%-83.72%
Black0%0%0%
American Indian and Alaskan Native0%0%0%