Rosa
Masculine · “Rose”
Rosa is given to girls far more often — 177,415 girls against 1,173 boys since 1880. See Rosa as a girl name
The woman who would not give up her seat was a trained organiser and had been for twelve years. Rosa Parks was secretary of her local branch, had attended a workshop on desegregation that summer, had investigated sexual assaults on Black women for the association, and was not, as the story usually goes, simply a seamstress whose feet hurt.
How old is the name Rosa?
Rosa first appears in US birth records in 1887 — 138 years ago. The typical Rosa alive today was born around 1948, making them about 77 years old. About 600 people named Rosa are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Rosa most popular?
Rosa peaked in 1896, reaching #900 nationally. See the whole 1896 chart.
Where it comes from
From rosa to Rosa
The story of Rosa
She corrected the account herself, repeatedly and in print. She wrote that the only tired she was, was tired of giving in, and she pointed out that a fifteen-year-old had been arrested for the same thing nine months earlier and that the organization had decided the girl was not the right test case. The bus boycott that followed her arrest was planned within days by people who had been preparing for exactly such a moment. Presenting her as a woman who spontaneously ran out of patience removes the decade of committee work, the legal strategy and the several thousand people who walked to work for a year, and she said so.
Meaningscholars disagree
Rose, or horse
The obvious reading is the Latin word for the flower, and that is how the name has been understood for centuries. Some of the medieval bearers, though, carry names built on a Germanic element hros, a horse, which produced Rosamund and Roswitha, and the two sources fell together early. Which is behind any particular family cannot be recovered.
How the name formed
- rosa
- Rosa
Related forms: Rosa · Rosa · Rosa · Roza
Pronouncing Rosa
ROH-zuh
Two syllables with the stress at the front. The s between vowels is voiced as a z in English, Italian and Spanish alike; Polish writes the z outright, which is the more honest spelling.
Nicknames for Rosa
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
- 1887
- Most boys named
- 193022 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #900reached in 1896
- Change vs 2000
- +100.0%10 in 2003, from 5
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.
Rosa in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Rosa in Italian — same name
- Rosa in Spanish — same name
- Rosa in German — same name
- Roza in Polish — same name
Rosas among us
people named Rosa are estimated to be alive in the US today
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
Questions parents actually ask
Fashion outlook
Rosa sits outside the current charts, and that is its own kind of answer: naming cycles can only date the names they carried up. A name this rare has no decade stamped on it — it cannot go out of fashion, because it was never in.
Based on 146 years of naming cycles. How we read them
The trade-off
- Spelled identically in Italian, Spanish and German and almost so in Polish.
- Four letters, no silent ones, and no possible ambiguity about how to say it.
- The meaning is concrete, pleasant and understood everywhere.
- The record carries it for boys in small numbers, so it is not quite an absolute signal.
- The flower reading is the assumed one and may not be the true one for a given family.
- It is strongly established as an older woman's name in American ears, though that is shifting.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Rosa to the vote.
Add it to a family vote or a couple’s swipe deck — the other person gets one card, a simple answer and room to say why. No app, no account for them.
Only the people you invite can see your list.
Already decided on Rosa? Hide it among decoys and let them guess.
What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Rosa
Masculine
Frequently asked
- How many Rosas are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 600 people named Rosa are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Rosa in 2025?
- Rosa is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 boy names.
- Will my child share the name Rosa with classmates?
- Rosa will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More R names
The most-given names starting with R, all years combined.
Robert#92 · Richard#234 · Ronald#637 · Ryan#99 · Raymond#394 · Roger#832 · Ralph#1046 · Roy#525
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Rosa? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Rosa and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
Compare side by sideIn a hurry? Just pick a winner — one tap, no sign-up, and you see how everyone else voted.
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
No advertising trackers and no data sellinghow we handle your dataindependent and founder-run, about Name Battle