Head to head · Girls' names
Romy vs Rosalina
#694 vs #680 in 2025 · both climbing the charts fast
Rosalina is a whisker ahead (#680 vs #694 in 2025) and both are climbing the charts fast. The records will not split these two — sound, story and your own last name will.
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, Rosalina leads 5 measures of 6; Romy leads 1.
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
- 1910s: Romy —, Rosalina #2738 — Rosalina higher
- 1920s: Romy —, Rosalina #2566 — Rosalina higher
- 1930s: Romy —, Rosalina #2088 — Rosalina higher
- 1940s: Romy —, Rosalina #2442 — Rosalina higher
- 1950s: Romy #6245, Rosalina #2269 — Rosalina higher
- 1960s: Romy #2052, Rosalina #2334 — Romy higher
- 1970s: Romy #4183, Rosalina #2517 — Rosalina higher
- 1980s: Romy #6804, Rosalina #2469 — Rosalina higher
- 1990s: Romy #6280, Rosalina #3225 — Rosalina higher
- 2000s: Romy #3718, Rosalina #3371 — Rosalina higher
- 2010s: Romy #2501, Rosalina #1896 — Rosalina higher
- 2020s: Romy #1199, Rosalina #881 — Rosalina higher
Rosalina stood higher in 11 of 12 decades; Rosalina has held the lead since the 1970s.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Romy | Rosalina |
|---|---|---|
| 1910s | — | #2738 |
| 1920s | — | #2566 |
| 1930s | — | #2088 |
| 1940s | — | #2442 |
| 1950s | #6245 | #2269 |
| 1960s | #2052 | #2334 |
| 1970s | #4183 | #2517 |
| 1980s | #6804 | #2469 |
| 1990s | #6280 | #3225 |
| 2000s | #3718 | #3371 |
| 2010s | #2501 | #1896 |
| 2020s | #1199 | #881 |
Average national rank across each decade. A dash means the name sat outside the recorded top of that decade.
Around the world
Romy
- France#8
- Canada#76
- Scotland#81
Rosalina
Not charting outside the US.
National statistics offices, latest published year.
The names themselves
Meaning, roots, sound and the people who carried each
Where each name comes from
Romy
Depends which name it grew out of: 'rose' or 'dew of the sea' by way of Rosemarie, or Hebrew rom, 'height'
Two separate roads meet at this spelling. In German, Dutch and French use, Romy is the clipped form of Rosemarie or Rosemary — a compound of Rose and Mary, tangled up with Latin ros marinus, 'sea dew', the herb rosemary. Separately, Hebrew Romi/Romy comes from the root rom, 'height, elevation', and is used in Israel as a girl's name on its own. A few bearers also arrive via Romana or Romilda, 'of Rome'. None of these cancels the others out.
Rosemarie → Romy
How it traveled
The clipped form was in ordinary domestic use in Austria and Germany well before it was ever registered as a given name — Rosemarie shortened the way Rosemary becomes Rosie in English. The Austrian actress Romy Schneider, born Rosemarie Albach, carried the pet name into public life in the mid-twentieth century and it spread from there into France, where it has stayed in steady use ever since.
Rosalina
rose, in an extended Latin form
Two readings compete. The straightforward one takes Rosalina as a Latinate elaboration of Rosa, "rose" — the same root behind Rosalia and Rosalie. The other traces it through Rosalind, which comes from the Germanic elements hros, "horse", and lind, "soft" or "shield of lime-wood", and which Romance speakers later reheard as rosa linda, "lovely rose". Both roads end at roses in modern ears, which is why the flower reading has stuck.
Rosa → Rosalia → Rosalina
How it traveled
The Latin word rosa gave medieval Europe a whole cluster of names, and the cult of Saint Rosalia of Palermo, a twelfth-century hermit venerated across Sicily, pushed the Rosal- forms far beyond Italy. Rosalina is the Spanish, Portuguese and Italian shape of that group — the diminutive suffix -ina doing the same work it does in Carolina and Paolina.
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
Romy
ROH-mee
Stress on the first syllable, with a long o as in 'rose'. Some American speakers reach for RAH-mee on first sight, and German and Dutch speakers say it much the same way English speakers do, so one correction is usually the end of it.
- Ro — The usual further shortening at home; too slight to stand alone on a form.
- Roms — Casual, mostly among friends and siblings rather than adults.
- Rosemarie — Runs the other way — the long form Romy was clipped from, still given in full in German-speaking families who then call the child Romy.
Rosalina
roh-zuh-LEE-nuh
Four syllables, stress on the third. Spanish and Italian speakers use a crisp s rather than a z: roh-sah-LEE-nah. Both are correct for the same name, and families often use one at home and the other at school.
- Rosie — The most common informal form across the whole rose family; used by all ages.
- Rosa — Informal here, but a long-established given name in its own right in Spanish, Italian and English.
- Lina — Takes the second half instead of the first; also stands alone as a given name in Italy, Germany and the Arab world.
- Rose — The plain English form, often used by relatives who prefer one syllable.
- Also Rosi.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Romy if you want…
- a name fewer children share#694 in 2025 — romy will almost certainly be the only one in school
- a name on the way upup 808 places on the charts in five years
- a name with fewer syllablesRomy is 2 syllables to Rosalina's 4
- a name that charts abroad tooRomy is on the national lists of France, Canada and Scotland
Choose Rosalina if you want…
- a name most people already know#680 in 2025, 417 babies that year
- a name with more sound in itRosalina runs 4 syllables, Romy 2
- plenty of nickname options5 recorded short forms — Rosie, Rosa and Lina
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
Romy
Strengths
- Already short. Nothing needs trimming, and there is no long formal version a child has to grow into or explain.
- Spelled the way it sounds for most English speakers, and only four letters to write out.
- In genuine use across German, Dutch, French and Hebrew-speaking communities — it crosses borders without changing shape.
To consider
- Romi, Romey and Roma are all live spellings, so expect to spell it out fairly often — though four letters makes that a quick job.
- Because it started life as a pet form, some people will ask what it is short for. The honest answer can be 'nothing' — it is given in full to plenty of children in the Netherlands and France.
- It sits close to Roman and Romeo, and a stranger reading it cold may pause over whether it belongs to a boy or a girl. In US records it is used for girls.
Rosalina
Strengths
- Comes with short forms that need no explaining — Rosie, Rosa, Lina — all of them already in ordinary use.
- Spelled the way it sounds, and identical in Spanish, Portuguese, Italian and English, so it crosses borders without a respelling.
- Sits inside a name family with a documented record going back to medieval Latin, alongside Rosa, Rosalia and Rosalind.
To consider
- It lives among close cousins — Rosalie, Rosalind, Rosalinda, Roselina — so expect a lifetime of gentle corrections when people write it down from hearing it.
- Nintendo gave the name to a character in the Mario games in the late 2000s, and many children know it from there. That recognition can be a warm thing or a tiring one, depending on the child.
- Four syllables is a long formal name. In practice most Rosalinas end up going by something shorter, which is worth being at peace with in advance.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
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 Romy and Rosalina in full.
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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
- France's favorites still rare in America
- Canadian favorites the US overlooks
- Scottish gems the US hasn't discovered
- German names, sturdy and storied
- all guides
Where Romy and Rosalina each sit in the library — alternatives in the same style, ranked by the same records.
Romy or Rosalina — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Romy or Rosalina?
- Rosalina, in 2025: Rosalina ranked #680 with 417 babies; Romy ranked #694 with 407 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Romy or Rosalina?
- Romy. Over the last five years Romy moved up 808 places; Rosalina moved up 366 places.
- Which is the older name, Romy or Rosalina?
- Romy entered the US charts in 1959; Rosalina entered the US charts in 1914. On the American record, Rosalina is the older name.
- How many people are named Romy and Rosalina?
- About 3,200 people named Romy are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 5,300 people named Rosalina are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Romys or Rosalinas in the classroom?
- Romy will almost certainly be the only one in school. Rosalina 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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