Head to head · Girls' names
Rose vs Rylee
#114 vs #137 in 2025
Rose is a whisker ahead (#114 vs #137 in 2025), but the curves point different ways: Rose is holding its place on the charts, Rylee is stepping back from its peak.
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, Rose leads 5 measures of 6; Rylee leads 0.
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: Rose #29, Rylee — — Rose higher
- 1890s: Rose #22, Rylee — — Rose higher
- 1900s: Rose #18, Rylee — — Rose higher
- 1910s: Rose #16, Rylee — — Rose higher
- 1920s: Rose #24, Rylee — — Rose higher
- 1930s: Rose #36, Rylee — — Rose higher
- 1940s: Rose #55, Rylee — — Rose higher
- 1950s: Rose #66, Rylee — — Rose higher
- 1960s: Rose #133, Rylee — — Rose higher
- 1970s: Rose #236, Rylee — — Rose higher
- 1980s: Rose #259, Rylee #5352 — Rose higher
- 1990s: Rose #329, Rylee #950 — Rose higher
- 2000s: Rose #336, Rylee #166 — Rylee higher
- 2010s: Rose #200, Rylee #107 — Rylee higher
- 2020s: Rose #117, Rylee #114 — Rylee higher
Rose stood higher in 12 of 15 decades; Rylee has held the lead since the 2000s.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Rose | Rylee |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | #29 | — |
| 1890s | #22 | — |
| 1900s | #18 | — |
| 1910s | #16 | — |
| 1920s | #24 | — |
| 1930s | #36 | — |
| 1940s | #55 | — |
| 1950s | #66 | — |
| 1960s | #133 | — |
| 1970s | #236 | — |
| 1980s | #259 | #5352 |
| 1990s | #329 | #950 |
| 2000s | #336 | #166 |
| 2010s | #200 | #107 |
| 2020s | #117 | #114 |
Average national rank across each decade. A dash means the name sat outside the recorded top of that decade.
Around the world
Rose
- France#6
- Canada#38
- England & Wales#59
- Scotland#71
Rylee
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
Rose
the flower; originally famous kind
Both readings are genuine and they belong to different periods. The Germanic compound is the older source of the English name; the flower is what the name has meant to everyone using it for several centuries. Neither can be dismissed.
Hrodohaidis → Rohese → Rose
How it traveled
The flower carried a specific job in European convention: it meant silence. A rose hung or carved above a table declared that whatever was said beneath it was not to be repeated, and the Latin phrase for under the rose is still used in English to mean confidentially.
Rylee
either 'descendant of Raghallach' (Irish) or 'rye clearing' (Old English)
Two separate roots landed on the same sound. The Irish surname Ó Raghallaigh, anglicized as Reilly and Riley, means 'descendant of Raghallach' — a personal name whose own sense is not securely established. Independently, several English places called Ryley or Riley take their name from Old English ryge 'rye' plus lēah 'wood, clearing', and gave surnames to the families who came from them. Both feed the modern given name, and there is no way to tell which one a particular family's line goes back to.
Ó Raghallaigh → Reilly → Riley → Rylee
How it traveled
Riley began as a family name on two islands at once: in Ireland as the anglicized Ó Raghallaigh, a name long established in County Cavan, and in England as a surname taken from small places named for rye fields. Nineteenth-century Irish emigration carried Reilly and Riley across the Atlantic in large numbers, where — as with so many Irish surnames in America — it eventually crossed over into use as a first name.
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
Rose
ROHZ
One syllable ending in a z. The final e is silent in English and sounded in Italian and Spanish, which give the name an extra syllable.
- Rosie — An affectionate ending; warm and used far more than the plain name in childhood.
- Ro — Cut to the opening sound; short, current and completely unfussy.
Rylee
RY-lee
Two syllables, stress on the first, rhyming with 'smiley'. The -lee spelling makes the ending unambiguous, which is much of its appeal as a written form.
- Ry — The most common short form, informal and used within families.
- Ry-Ry — A doubled nickname of the kind used with young children and by siblings.
- Lee — Draws on the second half; also stands alone as a given name for both sexes.
- Rye — Used informally; matches the Old English reading of the name's second root.
Who has carried each name
Rose
Rose Byrne (b. 1979) — Bridesmaids scene-stealer
Rose Leslie (b. 1987) — Game of Thrones' Ygritte
Rose of Lima (b. 1586) — First Catholic saint of the Americas
Rylee
No documented entry for Rylee 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 Rose if you want…
- a name most people already know#114 in 2025, 2,386 babies that year
- a name with fewer syllablesRose is 1 syllable to Rylee's 2
- a name that charts abroad tooRose is on the national lists of France, Canada, England & Wales and Scotland
- a long American recordRose was already in use when US records began in 1880
Choose Rylee if you want…
- a name fewer children share#137 in 2025 — rylee will almost certainly be the only one in school
- a name past its most crowded yearsRylee is stepping back from its peak
- a name with more sound in itRylee runs 2 syllables, Rose 1
- plenty of nickname options4 recorded short forms — Ry, Ry-Ry and Lee
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
Rose
Strengths
- One syllable, unmistakable, and recognized in every European language.
- It has been in continuous use for the entire length of the written record.
- Rosie sits inside it as a short form with a completely different warmth.
To consider
- It is currently fashionable again, so a child may not be the only one nearby.
- It is a very common middle name, which colors how it reads as a first one.
- The record holds a few boys as well, and the boy is much the smaller side.
Rylee
Strengths
- Pronunciation is obvious on sight to English speakers — the -lee ending removes any doubt about the second syllable.
- Sits behind a surname with a long documented record in both Ireland and England, so the name has real history under a modern spelling.
- Works across the whole life span: short, easy to say, and unremarkable on a résumé.
To consider
- The spelling will need saying aloud for life. Riley, Ryleigh, Rylie and Reilly are all in use, and people who hear the name will guess wrong more often than not.
- The base name Riley is given to both boys and girls in the United States. This particular spelling is overwhelmingly used for girls, but the sound itself does not signal one or the other.
- The -lee ending arrived in fashion recently, so the name reads as belonging to a young generation. That fades as any cohort grows up, but it is noticeable now.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
How each is likely to age
Rose
12%chance Rose feels dated by 2040
Rose has held the top-100 across 8 different decades — it has never depended on fashion, and names like that read the same at any age.
Rylee
66%chance Rylee feels dated by 2040
Rylee is coming down from a big peak (#97 in 2021). This is the stretch of the cycle where a name starts to sound like the decade it ruled.
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 Rose and Rylee 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
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More head-to-heads
Same measures, different pair. Sixty more are dealt daily in the arena.
Lists that carry both names
Every list here names both Rose and Rylee — the same style, ranked by the same records.
Rose or Rylee — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Rose or Rylee?
- Rose, in 2025: Rose ranked #114 with 2,386 babies; Rylee ranked #137 with 2,118 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Rose or Rylee?
- Neither is rising. Over the last five years Rose moved down 2 places; Rylee moved down 35 places.
- Which is the older name, Rose or Rylee?
- Rose was already in use when US records began in 1880; Rylee entered the US charts in 1980. On the American record, Rose is the older name.
- How many people are named Rose and Rylee?
- About 204,000 people named Rose are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 68,500 people named Rylee are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Roses or Rylees in the classroom?
- Rose will almost certainly be the only one in school. Rylee 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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