Rosemary
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The story
Rosemary can go into the supper pot or into a line about remembering someone. Its needle-like leaves belong to an aromatic herb used in Mediterranean cooking; in Hamlet, Ophelia offers rosemary for remembrance. The same familiar plant moves between the kitchen and a much more intimate request. As a given name, Rosemary combines Rose and Mary and can also refer to the herb, so there is warmth in it before the botanical story even begins. The plant's own name comes from Latin words meaning "dew of the sea," another small surprise behind something so domestic. Rosemary can carry two names, a scent and a remembered line at once. Crush a leaf between your fingers and the literary idea becomes easy to understand: some things return to us through the senses.
How popular is Rosemary around the world?
In the United States, 5,682 babies were named Rosemary between 2020 and 2025.
Rosemary is on the official records of the United States, Scotland, Canada, England and Wales, Montevideo, Ireland, Brazil, Austria and Spain.
United States
1 in 3,800
In the United States, 5,682 babies were named Rosemary between 2020 and 2025.
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Rosemary peaked in the 1920s and the 2020s in nearly equal measure.
Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
Scotland
1 in 5,100
In Scotland, 9 girls named Rosemary were registered in 2024, the 351st 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
Canada
1 in 5,500
In Canada, 67 girls named Rosemary were born in 2024, the 441st 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)
England and Wales
1 in 7,200
In England and Wales, 81 girls named Rosemary were born in 2025, the 490th 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
Montevideo City
1 in 8,2002011
In Montevideo, 3 girls named Rosemary were born in 2011, spelling variants counted together.
The count never rose above 5 in a year, too few to chart.
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
Ireland
1 in 9,000
In Ireland, 6 girls named Rosemary were born in 2025, the 544th 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
Brazil
1 in 11,000
At the 2022 census, 18,519 people in Brazil were named Rosemary, ranked 1,118th, with a median age of 54.
Among people named Rosemary 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
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
Austria
1 in 76,000
In Austria, 1 girl named Rosemary was born in 2025, ranked 1,875th among girls that year, spellings that differ only by special characters counted together.
The count never rose above 2 in a year, too few to chart.
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 100,000
In Spain, 435 residents are named Rosemary, ranked 2,517th among women, with a mean age of 52.9 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
Argentina
last on record 2021
Rosemary is not on the 2024 record for Argentina, where small counts are withheld at source.
The count never rose above 6 in a year, too few to chart.
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
last on record 2020
Rosemary is not on the 2021 record for Chile, where nametree keeps the spellings that reached 5 registrations in some year.
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
Mexico City City
last on record 2020
Rosemary is not on the 2022 record for Mexico City, where small counts are withheld at source.
The count never rose above 9 in a year, too few to chart.
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, a partial extract through 3 Mar with no cell on record for this name, is excluded. Source: Registro Civil of Mexico City, open data portal, registered given names 2000-2023
New South Wales
outside the top 100
Rosemary is not in the 2025 top 100 for New South Wales.
share of that year’s top-100 registrations
New South Wales (not all of Australia) publishes only each year’s 100 most popular names per sex, so a missing year means below that top 100, not rare. Source: NSW Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages, popular baby names
New Zealand
last on record 2024
Rosemary is not on the 2025 record for New Zealand, where names under 10 in a year are excluded at source.
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
Puerto Rico
last on record 2007
Rosemary is not on the 2025 record for Puerto Rico, which withholds births under 5, and 71 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)
South Australia
last on record 2016
Rosemary is not on the 2017 record for South Australia, whose registry publishes every name given that year.
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
Not on the record in Poland: that registry withholds small counts, so rare uses may sit below its floor.
Not on the France record: nametree keeps spellings that reached 20 births in some year, so rarer uses are not shown. Not on Norway’s list: Statistics Norway lists only first names carried by 200 or more living people, so rarer names are not shown.
Keep exploring
The Rosemary deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Rosemary 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 Rosemary fits with your family’s names and surname.
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