Head to head · Girls' names
Reagan vs Rosemary
#248 vs #251 in 2025
Reagan is a whisker ahead (#248 vs #251 in 2025), but the curves point different ways: Reagan is stepping back from its peak, Rosemary is back after a long quiet spell. On momentum, Rosemary has the edge.
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
On the charts, Rosemary leads 4 measures of 6; Reagan leads 2.
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: Reagan —, Rosemary #782 — Rosemary higher
- 1890s: Reagan —, Rosemary #692 — Rosemary higher
- 1900s: Reagan —, Rosemary #447 — Rosemary higher
- 1910s: Reagan —, Rosemary #226 — Rosemary higher
- 1920s: Reagan —, Rosemary #106 — Rosemary higher
- 1930s: Reagan —, Rosemary #99 — Rosemary higher
- 1940s: Reagan —, Rosemary #89 — Rosemary higher
- 1950s: Reagan #4837, Rosemary #151 — Rosemary higher
- 1960s: Reagan #3298, Rosemary #237 — Rosemary higher
- 1970s: Reagan #1738, Rosemary #383 — Rosemary higher
- 1980s: Reagan #1694, Rosemary #445 — Rosemary higher
- 1990s: Reagan #797, Rosemary #580 — Rosemary higher
- 2000s: Reagan #177, Rosemary #687 — Reagan higher
- 2010s: Reagan #106, Rosemary #532 — Reagan higher
- 2020s: Reagan #175, Rosemary #339 — Reagan higher
Rosemary stood higher in 12 of 15 decades; Reagan has held the lead since the 2000s.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Reagan | Rosemary |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | — | #782 |
| 1890s | — | #692 |
| 1900s | — | #447 |
| 1910s | — | #226 |
| 1920s | — | #106 |
| 1930s | — | #99 |
| 1940s | — | #89 |
| 1950s | #4837 | #151 |
| 1960s | #3298 | #237 |
| 1970s | #1738 | #383 |
| 1980s | #1694 | #445 |
| 1990s | #797 | #580 |
| 2000s | #177 | #687 |
| 2010s | #106 | #532 |
| 2020s | #175 | #339 |
Average national rank across each decade. A dash means the name sat outside the recorded top of that decade.
The names themselves
Meaning, roots, sound and the people who carried each
Where each name comes from
Reagan
descendant of Riagán — a name linked to Irish rí, "king"
The surname is straightforwardly "descendant of Riagán." What Riagán itself meant is where scholars part ways: one reading connects it to rí, "king," giving the popular gloss "little king"; another traces it to an Irish root for "impulsive" or "furious." Neither has won, and the surname's history is solid either way.
Riagán → Ó Riagáin → O'Regan → Regan → Reagan
How it traveled
Reagan is the anglicized spelling of the Irish surname Ó Riagáin, borne by families in medieval Ireland and spelled a dozen different ways once English clerks got hold of it — Regan, O'Regan, Ragan, Reagan. Irish emigration carried all those spellings to the United States, where Reagan became familiar as a family name long before anyone used it in front of one.
Rosemary
"dew of the sea" (via the herb), or Rose + Mary combined
Two readings compete, and both are real. The herb name descends from Latin ros marinus, "dew of the sea." But the English spelling was reshaped by folk association with the flower name Rose and the name Mary, and many families have used it deliberately as that compound — often to honor two relatives at once. Neither reading cancels the other; the name genuinely holds both.
ros marinus (Latin) → rosmarinus → rosmarine → rosemary (English herb name) → Rosemary
How it traveled
The herb came first: Latin ros marinus traveled into English as rosmarine, then settled as rosemary once speakers reinterpreted the halves as familiar names. Rosemary carried a long European association with remembrance, which is why Shakespeare gives Ophelia the line "There's rosemary, that's for remembrance" in Hamlet, and why the sprig turned up at both weddings and funerals.
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
Reagan
RAY-gən
RAY-gən is the usual American pronunciation. REE-gən is also heard, and is closer to how the surname is often said in Ireland — worth deciding early, because both are defensible and people will guess.
- Rae — The most-used short form, and a given name in its own right for girls.
- Ray — The same sound with the older spelling; stands alone as a masculine given name.
- Reags — Informal, mostly among friends and siblings rather than family elders.
- Reggie — Occasional and playful; more commonly attaches to Reginald or Regina.
Rosemary
ROHZ-mair-ee
Stress on the first syllable. Many American speakers reduce the middle to ROHZ-muh-ree; both are standard, and neither needs correcting.
- Rosie — The most common informal short form, and long established as a standalone given name too.
- Rose — Used as a formal-sounding short form; also a full given name in its own right.
- Romy — Chiefly a short form of the German Rosemarie; now widely used as an independent name.
- Rosa — Occasional short form, more usual in Spanish- and Italian-speaking families.
- Also Mary, Ro.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Reagan if you want…
- a name past its most crowded yearsReagan is stepping back from its peak
- a name with fewer syllablesReagan is 2 syllables to Rosemary's 3
- a name that feels very nowReagan is stepping back from its peak
Choose Rosemary if you want…
- a name on the way upup 191 places on the charts in five years
- a name with more sound in itRosemary runs 3 syllables, Reagan 2
- plenty of nickname options6 recorded short forms — Rosie, Rose and Romy
- a name that ages quietlyan estimated 30% chance of feeling dated by 2040, against 66% for Reagan
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
Reagan
Strengths
- The spelling is already familiar to most Americans from the surname, so it is rarely questioned in writing.
- Rae and Ray are established short forms, both of which work on their own as names.
- A surname-name, so it sits comfortably on a boy or a girl without needing explanation.
To consider
- In the United States the surname belongs first to a twentieth-century president, and plenty of people hold firm views about that era in either direction. Most will not comment; some will.
- Raegan, Regan and Ragan all circulate, so expect to spell it aloud fairly often, and expect the occasional REE-gən from someone reading it cold.
- The variant spelling Regan belongs to one of King Lear's ruthless daughters and to the possessed child in The Exorcist. Those associations follow that spelling more than this one, but a well-read stranger may make the leap.
Rosemary
Strengths
- The spelling is fixed by the herb, so almost no one has to have it spelled out twice.
- Ready-made short forms at several lengths — Rosie, Rose, Romy — none of which need inventing.
- Close cousins exist in German, French, Dutch, Spanish and Italian, so it travels without translation.
To consider
- Ira Levin's novel and the film made from it, Rosemary's Baby, is the association some adults will reach for first. It fades quickly in practice, but it is worth knowing that the joke exists.
- The typical American Rosemary alive today is well into later life, so the name still reads as a grandmother's in many circles — part of why it sounds fresh again, and part of why some ears hear it as old-fashioned.
- Four syllables invites shortening, and Rosie will likely arrive whether or not you offer it.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
How each is likely to age
Reagan
66%chance Reagan feels dated by 2040
Reagan is coming down from a big peak (#97 in 2012). This is the stretch of the cycle where a name starts to sound like the decade it ruled.
Rosemary
30%chance Rosemary feels dated by 2040
Rosemary is on its second act. Revived names age gently: the generation that wore them first is far enough away that the name feels classic rather than dated.
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 Reagan and Rosemary 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
Nobody names a baby alone
Still torn between Reagan and Rosemary?
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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
- Beloved classics quietly disappearing
- Presidential surnames as first names
- Names ending in -en / -an / -on
- Vintage names making a comeback
- all guides
Where Reagan and Rosemary each sit in the library — alternatives in the same style, ranked by the same records.
Reagan or Rosemary — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Reagan or Rosemary?
- Reagan, in 2025: Reagan ranked #248 with 1,244 babies; Rosemary ranked #251 with 1,222 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Reagan or Rosemary?
- Rosemary. Over the last five years Reagan moved down 134 places; Rosemary moved up 191 places.
- Which is the older name, Reagan or Rosemary?
- Reagan entered the US charts in 1956; Rosemary entered the US charts in 1882. On the American record, Rosemary is the older name.
- How many people are named Reagan and Rosemary?
- About 65,000 people named Reagan are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 93,000 people named Rosemary are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Reagans or Rosemarys in the classroom?
- Reagan will almost certainly be the only one in school. Rosemary will almost certainly be the only one in school.
US figures from the Social Security Administration, 1880–2025. Votes are battle voters on this site, not the birth record. Data & methodology
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