Rosa
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Meaning
rose; famously borne by civil rights icon Rosa Parks, forever carried in American memory
Goes by Rosie. See all nicknames
The story
Rosa looks transparent: the Latin word for rose appears to explain everything. The history is more intriguing. Behind the Name notes that Rosa may also descend from an unrelated Germanic name, so two roots could have met inside the same familiar flower. A thirteenth-century saint from Viterbo carried it, and modern history gave Rosa to women whose courage moved in very different arenas. Rosa Luxemburg became a revolutionary thinker and activist; Rosa Parks helped turn one refusal on a Montgomery bus into an enduring symbol of the American civil rights movement. The name does not belong to either politics or sainthood, but their lives keep it from being merely decorative. Rosa remains common across languages because almost no translation is needed: the flower and the sound travel together. Its records stretch unbroken across American generations and run especially deep in Brazil, but the human story is stronger than longevity. A rose can be soft, thorned, sacred, and defiant. Rosa has carried every one of those readings.
Rosa across languages
One shared root links 8 names across 4 languages.
Shared root: the medieval name arrived as Norman Roese/Rohese, a Germanic name from hrod "fame", early merged with Latin rosa "rose"; the flower sense has long since taken over
The constellation
More branches
How popular is Rosa around the world?
In the United States, 2,729 babies were named Rosa between 2020 and 2025. In Austria, 198 girls named Rosa were born in 2025, the 36th most common name among girls that year, spellings that differ only by special characters counted together.
Rosa is on the official records of the United States, Austria, Spain, Brazil, Scotland, England and Wales, New Zealand, Ireland, Mexico City, France, Argentina, Chile, Montevideo, South Australia, Canada and Poland.
Rosa crosses languages: it is in the latest top 300 of an English-speaking birth record, of a Spanish-speaking one and of Brazil’s 2022 census, which counts people of every age. The full lists: English and Spanish · English and Portuguese · Spanish and Portuguese
United States
1 in 8,000
In the United States, 2,729 babies were named Rosa between 2020 and 2025.
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Rosa peaked in the 1890s and the 1910s in nearly equal measure.
Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
Austria
1 in 380
In Austria, 198 girls named Rosa were born in 2025, the 36th most common name among girls that year, spellings that differ only by special characters counted together.
share of that year’s births on record
Live births in Austria by year of birth, 1984–2025, from Statistik Austria’s first-name statistics; spellings that differ only by special characters are counted together (umlauts stay apart), every name down to a single birth is published, and the count covers babies with Austrian citizenship only until 2009, every baby from 2010, and from 2015 also births abroad to mothers living in Austria. Shares divide by Statistik Austria’s count of live births from 2010, and before that by the file’s own total for the year. Source: Statistik Austria - data.statistik.gv.at (OGDEXT_VORNAMEN_1, updated 2026-07-09)
Spain
1 in 520
In Spain, 86,111 residents are named Rosa, the 59th most common name among women, with a mean age of 67.2 years.
Residents of Spain on 1 January 2025. Spain publishes how old a name’s living bearers are, not a birth series, so there is no year chart. Source: INE (Spain), Censo de Población anual, 1 January 2025
Brazil
1 in 800
At the 2022 census, 252,748 people in Brazil were named Rosa, the 122nd most common name, with a median age of 59.
Among people named Rosa living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 1960s than in any other decade.
people alive at the 2022 census, by decade of birth
The census also counted 1,148 born between 2020 and August 2022, too recent a span to chart. People alive and resident in Brazil at the 2022 census, a living-population count, not births; names under 20 are withheld at source. Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022
Scotland
1 in 1,100
In Scotland, 40 girls named Rosa were registered in 2024, the 108th most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Births registered in Scotland; different spellings count separately but accents are merged at source, and any spelling under 3 in total is suppressed. Source: National Records of Scotland, babies' first names
England and Wales
1 in 1,200
In England and Wales, 470 girls named Rosa were born in 2025, the 96th most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Birth registrations in England and Wales (not the whole UK); exact spellings are counted separately, and any spelling under 3 in a year is withheld at source. Source: Office for National Statistics, baby names in England and Wales
New Zealand
1 in 1,900
In New Zealand, 31 girls named Rosa were registered in 2025.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from New Zealand birth registrations, grouped by registration year; any name under 10 in a year is excluded at source. Shares divide by Stats NZ’s count of births registered to mothers living in New Zealand, under 1% below the registry’s own count. Source: Department of Internal Affairs (New Zealand), baby name popularity over time
Ireland
1 in 2,800
In Ireland, 19 girls named Rosa were born in 2025, the 226th most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Exact registered spellings from Irish vital statistics; any name under 3 in a year is withheld at source, and accented spellings (fadas) are recorded reliably only from 2018. Source: Central Statistics Office (Ireland), Irish babies' names
Mexico City City
1 in 3,400
In Mexico City, there were 35 registrations of Rosa in 2022.
share of that year’s registrations in the city
Civil-registry acts in Mexico City by registration year. Counts are lower bounds (names under 6 in a month and borough are removed at source) and count name-instances, not people; compound names are split, so “Maria Jose” counts under each part. 2023 (2 registrations through 3 Mar) is excluded as partial. Source: Registro Civil of Mexico City, open data portal, registered given names 2000-2023
France
1 in 3,900
In France, about 165 girls named Rosa were born in 2025, the 328th most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s births on record
Births in France by year of birth, from INSEE’s fichier des prénoms (1900–2025; Mayotte from 2012); exact spellings count separately (Léo and Leo are different names), any spelling under 3 in a year and sex is withheld at source, every count is rounded to the nearest 5 at source, and nametree keeps the spellings that reached 20 in some year. Shares divide by INSEE’s count of births in France from 1957, and before that by the file’s own total for the year; INSEE says the file is not complete before 1946. Source: Insee, fichier des prénoms (last updated 2026-07-16)
Argentina
1 in 4,300
In Argentina, 154 newborns were given the name Rosa in 2024.
share of that year’s name registrations
Given-name components of births in Argentina 2012–2024; national cells are lower bounds and no sex split is published. Source: RENAPER (Argentina), Dirección Nacional de Población, given names 2012-2024
Chile
1 in 4,500
In Chile, 40 girls were registered as Rosa in 2021, every accent spelling counted together.
share of that year’s name registrations
First-name registrations with Chile’s civil registry by year of registration, 1920–2021, counted as spelling groups (Sofía, Sofia and Sofìa are one name, shown with its most-registered spelling); the registry withholds nothing, nametree keeps the groups that reached 5 registrations in some year, and shares divide by every registration of the year. Source: Servicio de Registro Civil e Identificación (Chile) via the guaguas package, first-name registrations 1920-2021
Montevideo City
1 in 8,2002011
In Montevideo, 3 girls named Rosa were born in 2011, spelling variants counted together.
share of that year’s births on record
Births in the department of Montevideo (not all of Uruguay) by first name and year of birth, 1940–2011, from the city’s civil registry, which writes names in capitals, almost always without accents; counted as spelling groups (accent and punctuation variants merged), nothing is withheld at source, and 2012 is excluded as a partial year. Source: Servicio de Registro Civil, Intendencia de Montevideo, Partidas de Registro Civil de Montevideo (Licencia de Datos Abiertos - Uruguay); 2012 dropped as partial
South Australia
1 in 9,2002017
In South Australia, 2 girls were registered as Rosa in 2017.
share of that year’s name registrations
Births registered in South Australia (not all of Australia) by first name and year of registration, 1944–2017, from the state’s Births, Deaths and Marriages registry, which publishes every name down to a single birth in capitals; a spelling its export repeats inside a year is counted once, and from 2018 only a top 100 is published, so the series ends at 2017. Source: Consumer and Business Services (South Australia), popular baby names
Canada
1 in 10,000
In Canada, 36 girls named Rosa were born in 2024, the 809th most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from provincial and territorial vital statistics across Canada; any name-sex-year under 5 is excluded at source, and small Quebec counts carry a randomized adjustment made at source. Shares divide by Statistics Canada’s count of live births for the year; the 2024 count is preliminary. Source: Statistics Canada, first names at birth (table 17-10-0147-01)
Poland
1 in 25,000
In Poland, 10 girls named Rosa were born in 2025, the 352nd most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
First names given to children born in Poland by year of birth, 2000–2025, from the PESEL population register (Ministry of Digital Affairs); exact spellings count separately (Łukasz and Lukasz are different names), names given fewer than 5 times in a year were left off the list through 2012 and fewer than 2 times from 2013, and the register also counts children born abroad, so its yearly sums run above Poland’s live births. Shares divide by the register’s own published total for the year, never by births. Source: Ministry of Digital Affairs, PESEL register (dane.gov.pl)
Norway
last on record 2023
Rosa is not on the 2025 record for Norway, where names carried by fewer than 4 people in a year are withheld at source.
share of the girls on the register for that year, SSB’s own figure
People who have or have had a Norwegian ID number, emigrants left out, from Statistics Norway’s name statistics (release of January 2026): by year of birth for 1945–2020 (everyone born that year who was ever registered in Norway, including people who registered later and people who have since died) and by year of naming from 2021; only first names carried by 200 or more living people are listed, counts under 4 are withheld, and SSB merges spellings that differ only by letters outside the Norwegian alphabet. The shares are SSB’s own, of the people of that sex and year in that count; the 2025 figure counts the children named that year, and no year is a count of births. Source: Statistics Norway (SSB), table 10467 (updated 2026-01-28)
Puerto Rico
last on record 2009
Rosa is not on the 2025 record for Puerto Rico, which withholds births under 5, and 153 babies have carried the name there since 1998.
share of that year’s births on record
First given name only, from Social Security records of births in Puerto Rico; any name-sex-year under 5 births is withheld at source. Shares divide by the Puerto Rico Demographic Registry’s count of births on the island; the 2025 count is provisional. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, territory name file (Puerto Rico)
When you meet Rosa
People given the name Rosa in the United States span the generations: the middle half were born anywhere from 1950 to 1999. Age is the one thing the name won't tell you.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
Where Rosa travels
Mexican American · a beloved classic passed down through generations of Mexican-American families
Italian American · a beloved classic carried by generations of Italian-American grandmothers
Vietnamese American · honoring Saint Rose, a common Vietnamese Catholic baptismal name
Keep exploring
Nicknames for Rosa · Italian baby names · Italian American baby names · Spanish baby names · Vietnamese American baby names · African American baby names · Mexican American baby names · Short names
The Rosa deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Rosa truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how Rosa fits with your family’s names and surname.
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