Primrose
Feminine · “first rose”
Primrose is the first rose — prima rosa — and it is not a rose at all, which the name has been getting wrong since the Middle Ages.
How old is the name Primrose?
Primrose first appears in US birth records in 1914 — 111 years ago. The typical Primrose is a kid of about 5 — this name's wave is very recent. About 1,000 people named Primrose are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Primrose most popular?
Primrose peaked in 2021, reaching #2057 nationally. Today it ranks #2542, 485 places below that high. See the whole 2021 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From prima rosa to Primrose
The story of Primrose
The primrose flowers early in spring, which is what the name records — first rose — though it belongs to a different family entirely. Primrose Hill in London is named for it. The name entered English use in the nineteenth century and appears in American records in current use.
Meaning
first rose
From the Medieval Latin prima rosa, 'first rose', through the Old French primerose. The primrose is not a rose but a Primula, and the name reflects only its early flowering. The etymology is documented and the botanical mismatch genuine.
How the name formed
- prima rosa
- primerose
- Primrose
Related forms: Primevère · Primula
Pronouncing Primrose
PRIM-rohz
Two syllables, stress on the first. Said identically in every English accent.
Nicknames for Primrose
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1914
- Most girls named
- 202193 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #2057reached in 2021
- Change vs 2024
- −24.2%69 in 2025, from 91
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Primrose in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Primevère in French — related form
- Primula in Latin — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Florida, Texas.
Primroses among us
people named Primrose are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 23,294 born in 2025 was named Primrose
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Emeli test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Primrose's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Emeli climbed just as high around 2005, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Emeli's path sketches the road Primrose is walking now.
Primrose sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Where Primrose is headed
Primrose should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind.
Medium confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
Primrose beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Primrose in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- That the primrose is not a rose at all is a first-rate fact.
- Rose is available as a short form with a large record.
- Two clean syllables with no pronunciation risk.
- The Prim clipping collides with an English adjective.
- A novel series is a strong recent association.
- It reads as a flower name and a Victorian one.
Nobody names a baby alone.
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What they receive
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Primrose
Feminine · #2542 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Primroses are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 1,000 people named Primrose are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Primrose in 2025?
- Primrose ranks #2542 among US girl names in 2025, with 69 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Primrose?
- About 1 in every 23,294 US girls born in 2025 was named Primrose — 69 in all.
- Will my child share the name Primrose with classmates?
- Primrose will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Primrose
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Taelyn#2542 · Lennie#2542 · Atarah#2542 · Alaysha#2542 · Ania#2542 · Lynn#2542 · Eliyana#2542 · Hinda#2542
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Primrose? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Primrose and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
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Weighing a whole shortlist? Add the rest in the builder, or settle it with a bracket.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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