Rosaline
Feminine · “horse shield”
Rosaline is the woman Romeo is in love with when the play opens — and she never appears on stage.
How old is the name Rosaline?
Rosaline first appears in US birth records in 1891 — 134 years ago. The typical Rosaline alive today was born around 1948, making them about 77 years old. About 2,100 people named Rosaline are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Rosaline most popular?
Rosaline peaked in 1928, reaching #759 nationally. Today it ranks #2173, 1,414 places below that high. See the whole 1928 chart.
Where it comes from
From hros lind to Rosaline
The story of Rosaline
Romeo spends the opening of the play pining for Rosaline and forgets her the instant he sees Juliet, which is the joke the friar makes. Shakespeare uses the name again in Love's Labour's Lost. The Germanic original has nothing to do with roses. It appears in American records in current use.
Meaningscholars disagree
horse shield; or gentle rose
From the Germanic hros, 'horse', and lind, 'shield of lime wood' or 'soft' — the same origin as Rosalind. Romance speakers reread the first element as rosa, 'rose', and the spelling followed. Both readings are current and the Germanic is the historical one.
How the name formed
- hros lind
- Rosalind
- Rosaline
Related forms: Rosalind · Rosaline · Rosalinda
Pronouncing Rosaline
ROZ-uh-line
Three syllables, stress on the first. Some say ROZ-uh-leen with a different final vowel.
Nicknames for Rosaline
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
- 1891
- Most girls named
- 192585 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #759reached in 1928
- Change vs 2022
- +21.4%85 in 2025, from 70
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.
Rosaline in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Rosalind in English — related form
- Rosaline in French — same name
- Rosalinda in Spanish — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Texas, Pennsylvania.
Rosalines among us
people named Rosaline are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 18,909 born in 2025 was named Rosaline
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 Leonia test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Rosaline's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Leonia climbed just as high around 1903, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Leonia's path sketches the road Rosaline is walking now.
Rosaline 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 Rosaline is headed
Rosaline 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.
Rosaline beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Rosaline in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- That a horse-and-shield name was reheard as a rose is a first-rate history.
- Rosie is available as a short form with a large record.
- Shakespeare uses it in two plays.
- The final syllable splits between -line and -leen.
- Rosalind and Rosaline are close enough to confuse.
- The rose reading is a folk etymology rather than the source.
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What they receive
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Rosaline
Feminine · #2173 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Rosalines are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 2,100 people named Rosaline are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Rosaline in 2025?
- Rosaline ranks #2173 among US girl names in 2025, with 85 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Rosaline?
- About 1 in every 18,909 US girls born in 2025 was named Rosaline — 85 in all.
- Will my child share the name Rosaline with classmates?
- Rosaline will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Rosaline
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Karlie#2173 · Jocelynn#2173 · Zadie#2173 · Kynslee#2173 · Dawn#2173 · Kayce#2173 · Hiba#2173 · Esty#2173
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Rosaline? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Rosaline and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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