Head to head · Girls' names
Gemma vs Rosalie
#170 vs #171 in 2025
Gemma is a whisker ahead (#170 vs #171 in 2025), but the curves point different ways: Gemma is climbing the charts fast, Rosalie is holding its place on the charts.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
The tale of the tape
The tape is even: Gemma and Rosalie each lead 3 measures of 6.
Ranks, counts and years are measured in the official US birth record; the classroom and living figures are estimates computed from it. The dot marks the side each measure favours on the charts — more common, not better.
What the records say
146 years of US births, drawn on one scale
Two curves, one scale
Who owned which decade
- 1880s: Gemma —, Rosalie #297 — Rosalie higher
- 1890s: Gemma —, Rosalie #302 — Rosalie higher
- 1900s: Gemma #1687, Rosalie #262 — Rosalie higher
- 1910s: Gemma #1591, Rosalie #215 — Rosalie higher
- 1920s: Gemma #1964, Rosalie #185 — Rosalie higher
- 1930s: Gemma #2277, Rosalie #169 — Rosalie higher
- 1940s: Gemma #2204, Rosalie #190 — Rosalie higher
- 1950s: Gemma #1906, Rosalie #333 — Rosalie higher
- 1960s: Gemma #2255, Rosalie #527 — Rosalie higher
- 1970s: Gemma #2762, Rosalie #833 — Rosalie higher
- 1980s: Gemma #2382, Rosalie #940 — Rosalie higher
- 1990s: Gemma #1855, Rosalie #1250 — Rosalie higher
- 2000s: Gemma #1176, Rosalie #1389 — Gemma higher
- 2010s: Gemma #291, Rosalie #337 — Gemma higher
- 2020s: Gemma #191, Rosalie #182 — Rosalie higher
Rosalie stood higher in 13 of 15 decades; Rosalie took the 2020s.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Gemma | Rosalie |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | — | #297 |
| 1890s | — | #302 |
| 1900s | #1687 | #262 |
| 1910s | #1591 | #215 |
| 1920s | #1964 | #185 |
| 1930s | #2277 | #169 |
| 1940s | #2204 | #190 |
| 1950s | #1906 | #333 |
| 1960s | #2255 | #527 |
| 1970s | #2762 | #833 |
| 1980s | #2382 | #940 |
| 1990s | #1855 | #1250 |
| 2000s | #1176 | #1389 |
| 2010s | #291 | #337 |
| 2020s | #191 | #182 |
Average national rank across each decade. A dash means the name sat outside the recorded top of that decade.
Around the world
Gemma
Not charting outside the US.
Rosalie
- Canada#63
National statistics offices, latest published year.
The names themselves
Meaning, roots, sound and the people who carried each
Where each name comes from
Gemma
Gem, precious stone
Directly from Latin gemma, which meant both a bud on a vine and a jewel. Italian kept the word unchanged as a given name.
Latin gemma → Italian Gemma → Catalan/Spanish Gema → English Gemma
How it traveled
Gemma began as an ordinary Latin noun and became a personal name in medieval Italy, where it was given as a term of endearment — the child as the jewel. Its best-known early bearer is Gemma Donati, the Florentine woman who married Dante Alighieri in the late thirteenth century.
Rosalie
rose
From Latin rosa, by way of the name Rosalia.
Rosa → Rosalia → Rosalie
How it traveled
The root is Latin rosa. Rosalia was both a Roman spring festival at which tombs were decorated with roses and, later, a personal name — borne by Saint Rosalia of Palermo, a twelfth-century hermit who became the city's patron and whose cult spread the name through Sicily and Italy.
Where a reading is contested the note says so — this page does not turn a guess into a fact. The chain is each name's recorded forms, oldest first; the story is its opening, told in full on the name's own page.
Out loud, and in short
Gemma
JEM-uh
Soft G, as in gem, in English, Italian and Catalan alike. A hard-G reading (GHEM-ah) is the usual first guess from speakers of languages where G stays hard before E, so expect to correct it now and then.
- Gem — The standard short form in English, informal, and occasionally written Jem.
- Gemmy — Family-level diminutive, mostly used with small children.
- Em — Occasional, borrowed from the second syllable; more common where an Emma or Emily is not already in the house.
Rosalie
ROH-zuh-lee
Also commonly ROZ-uh-lee, with a short first vowel; both are accepted in American English. In French the stress moves to the end: roh-zah-LEE.
- Rosie — The everyday short form, used for centuries; also given as a name on its own.
- Rose — Formal-sounding shortening that stands fully as an independent given name.
- Rosa — Used where Italian, Spanish or German is spoken in the family; a full name elsewhere.
- Ro — Informal, mostly within families and among friends.
- Also Lee.
Who has carried each name
Gemma
Gemma Chan (b. 1982) — Crazy Rich Asians star
Gemma Arterton (b. 1986) — Bond girl turned acclaimed stage actress
Rosalie
No documented entry for Rosalie yet.
Source: Wikidata — the one source on this page that is not an official agency.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Gemma if you want…
- a name on the way upup 38 places on the charts in five years
- a name with fewer syllablesGemma is 2 syllables to Rosalie's 3
- a newer arrivalGemma entered the US charts in 1904
- a name that feels very nowGemma is climbing the charts fast
Choose Rosalie if you want…
- a name holding steadyRosalie is holding its place on the charts
- a name with more sound in itRosalie runs 3 syllables, Gemma 2
- plenty of nickname options5 recorded short forms — Rosie, Rose and Rosa
- a name that charts abroad tooRosalie is on the national lists of Canada
Each line is a measured difference between the two names — a rank, a count, a recorded form — never a judgement of either. Save the one that answers your question; it lands on your shortlist.
The trade-offs, name by name
Gemma
Strengths
- Spells itself from the sound and reads correctly on sight for most English speakers, with no variant spellings competing for attention.
- Transparent meaning — the Latin word for jewel, unchanged — so the sense never needs explaining or defending.
- Works unaltered in Italian, Catalan and Dutch, and needs only one dropped letter in Spanish.
To consider
- It rhymes closely with Emma, one of the most-used girls' names of the past few decades. Expect the occasional mishearing on the phone and in classrooms where an Emma is already sitting.
- The soft G is not obvious to everyone. Speakers of Italian aside, people who read it before they hear it sometimes try a hard G, and the correction becomes a small lifelong habit.
- The name is climbing steadily in the US rather than holding flat, so a child born now may meet more Gemmas at twenty than at five — worth knowing if rarity is part of the appeal.
Rosalie
Strengths
- Meaning is settled and easy to say in one word: rose.
- Ready-made short forms — Rosie, Rose, Rosa — all of them long established, so nothing has to be invented.
- Recognizable across French, German, Italian, Spanish, Polish and Hungarian, with only small changes of spelling.
To consider
- It sits in a crowded neighborhood of similar names — Rosalyn, Rosalind, Rosalia, Rosalee — so expect occasional corrections, especially in writing and over the phone.
- Two pronunciations circulate, ROH-zuh-lee and ROZ-uh-lee. Neither is wrong, but you will be asked which one you use.
- Rosie is such a natural shortening that the full name may end up reserved for forms and formal introductions.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
How each is likely to age
Gemma
50%chance Gemma feels dated by 2040
Gemma is climbing fast right now. Steep climbs tend to come with steep descents — the quicker a name arrives, the more firmly it belongs to its moment.
Rosalie
25%chance Rosalie feels dated by 2040
Rosalie peaked long ago yet still holds steady — names that survive their own wave usually settle into quiet, durable classics.
A reading of where each name sits on the long naming cycle — computed, not measured, and explained on the data page.
With your last name
Say both in full. The notes are facts about letters and sound — a rhyme, a shared initial, the monogram — not a verdict on either name.
Type a last name to hear Gemma and Rosalie in full.
Weighing the whole shortlist? Run the full comparison — up to eight names with your last name, initials, classroom projections and a printable report.
Decide together
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More head-to-heads
Same measures, different pair. Sixty more are dealt daily in the arena.
Lists these names appear on
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- Five-letter names, the comfortable middle
- Names with a double letter
- Gemstone names: small treasures
- all guides
Where Gemma and Rosalie each sit in the library — alternatives in the same style, ranked by the same records.
Gemma or Rosalie — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Gemma or Rosalie?
- Gemma, in 2025: Gemma ranked #170 with 1,805 babies; Rosalie ranked #171 with 1,797 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Gemma or Rosalie?
- Gemma. Over the last five years Gemma moved up 38 places; Rosalie moved up 27 places.
- Which is the older name, Gemma or Rosalie?
- Gemma entered the US charts in 1904; Rosalie was already in use when US records began in 1880. On the American record, Rosalie is the older name.
- How many people are named Gemma and Rosalie?
- About 25,000 people named Gemma are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 48,000 people named Rosalie are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Gemmas or Rosalies in the classroom?
- Gemma will almost certainly be the only one in school. Rosalie will almost certainly be the only one in school.
US figures from the Social Security Administration, 1880–2025; international figures from national statistics agencies. Votes are battle voters on this site, not the birth record. Data & methodology
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