Head to head · Girls' names
Rosalie vs Ruth
#171 vs #173 in 2025
Rosalie is a whisker ahead (#171 vs #173 in 2025), but the curves point different ways: Rosalie is holding its place on the charts, Ruth is back after a long quiet spell. On momentum, Ruth 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, Ruth leads 3 measures of 6; Rosalie 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: Rosalie #297, Ruth #71 — Ruth higher
- 1890s: Rosalie #302, Ruth #11 — Ruth higher
- 1900s: Rosalie #262, Ruth #5 — Ruth higher
- 1910s: Rosalie #215, Ruth #5 — Ruth higher
- 1920s: Rosalie #185, Ruth #6 — Ruth higher
- 1930s: Rosalie #169, Ruth #15 — Ruth higher
- 1940s: Rosalie #190, Ruth #36 — Ruth higher
- 1950s: Rosalie #333, Ruth #71 — Ruth higher
- 1960s: Rosalie #527, Ruth #123 — Ruth higher
- 1970s: Rosalie #833, Ruth #201 — Ruth higher
- 1980s: Rosalie #940, Ruth #233 — Ruth higher
- 1990s: Rosalie #1250, Ruth #321 — Ruth higher
- 2000s: Rosalie #1389, Ruth #346 — Ruth higher
- 2010s: Rosalie #337, Ruth #301 — Ruth higher
- 2020s: Rosalie #182, Ruth #186 — Rosalie higher
Ruth stood higher in 14 of 15 decades; Rosalie took the 2020s.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Rosalie | Ruth |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | #297 | #71 |
| 1890s | #302 | #11 |
| 1900s | #262 | #5 |
| 1910s | #215 | #5 |
| 1920s | #185 | #6 |
| 1930s | #169 | #15 |
| 1940s | #190 | #36 |
| 1950s | #333 | #71 |
| 1960s | #527 | #123 |
| 1970s | #833 | #201 |
| 1980s | #940 | #233 |
| 1990s | #1250 | #321 |
| 2000s | #1389 | #346 |
| 2010s | #337 | #301 |
| 2020s | #182 | #186 |
Average national rank across each decade. A dash means the name sat outside the recorded top of that decade.
Around the world
Rosalie
- Canada#63
Ruth
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
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.
Ruth
companion, friend
The Hebrew is usually read as a word about companionship, though the derivation is not secure. Four letters, one syllable, and an etymology that cannot be pinned down.
Rut → Ruth
How it traveled
The book is short, domestic and legal: a famine, a migration, two widows, a field, a kinsman with an obligation and a transaction at a town gate with ten witnesses. There is no miracle in it and God is mentioned but does nothing visible.
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
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.
Ruth
ROOTH
One syllable, rhyming with truth. Said essentially the same way in English, German, Spanish and Hebrew.
- Ruthie — The affectionate form; used widely and often on later paperwork.
- Ru — Cut to one sound; used inside families rather than written.
Who has carried each name
Rosalie
No documented entry for Rosalie yet.
Ruth
Ruth Bader Ginsburg (b. 1933) — Supreme Court justice who became "the Notorious RBG"
Ruth Handler (b. 1916) — Invented Barbie — and named her after her daughter
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 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, Ruth 1
- plenty of nickname options5 recorded short forms — Rosie, Rose and Rosa
- a name that charts abroad tooRosalie is on the national lists of Canada
Choose Ruth if you want…
- a name on the way upup 46 places on the charts in five years
- a name with fewer syllablesRuth is 1 syllable to Rosalie's 3
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
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.
Ruth
Strengths
- One syllable and four letters, with no possible mispronunciation.
- It is recognized in Jewish and Christian tradition alike and spelled the same in most European languages.
- It has an unbroken run in American records from the first year they were kept.
To consider
- It is strongly associated with the early twentieth century, though it has begun to return.
- The English word ruth, meaning pity, is dead except in ruthless, and people will mention it.
- The spelling is recorded for a small number of boys, though it reads overwhelmingly as a girl's name.
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 Rosalie and Ruth 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 Rosalie and Ruth?
Put both to the vote.
One link to your partner, your parents, your sister. Each of them gets the two names, a one-tap answer and room to say why — and every reply lands in one place.
Free to start · no account needed · everyone you invite votes in one tap
More than two in the running? Settle it with a bracket or run the full comparison with your last name.
More head-to-heads
Same measures, different pair. Sixty more are dealt daily in the arena.
Lists these names appear on
- Seven-letter names, ranked by real use
- Soft-sounding names built on liquid letters
- Names ending in -ie
- Vintage names making a comeback
- all guides
Where Rosalie and Ruth each sit in the library — alternatives in the same style, ranked by the same records.
Rosalie or Ruth — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Rosalie or Ruth?
- Rosalie, in 2025: Rosalie ranked #171 with 1,797 babies; Ruth ranked #173 with 1,781 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Rosalie or Ruth?
- Ruth. Over the last five years Rosalie moved up 27 places; Ruth moved up 46 places.
- Which is the older name, Rosalie or Ruth?
- The US record cannot say: both were already in use when it began in 1880.
- How many people are named Rosalie and Ruth?
- About 48,000 people named Rosalie are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 233,000 people named Ruth are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Rosalies or Ruths in the classroom?
- Rosalie will almost certainly be the only one in school. Ruth 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
Keep playing
Sixty more head-to-heads are dealt in the arena every day — or line up Rosalie, Ruth and the rest of your shortlist with your last name in one printable report.
Free to start · no account needed · everyone you invite votes in one tap