Rose
Masculine · “the flower”
Rose is given to girls far more often — 500,586 girls against 2,118 boys since 1880. See Rose as a girl name
Rose was a Germanic name before anybody thought of the flower. The medieval English form was Rohese, brought over by the Normans, and it is built from an element meaning fame and one meaning kind or sort. The flower reading arrived later, took over completely, and nobody now hears anything else.
How old is the name Rose?
Rose was already in use when US birth records began in 1880 — it is at least 145 years old. The typical Rose alive today was born around 1931, making them about 94 years old. About 600 people named Rose are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Rose most popular?
Rose peaked in 1907, reaching #472 nationally. See the whole 1907 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From Hrodohaidis to Rose
The story of Rose
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. Plaster roses in the ceilings of dining rooms and council chambers are the fossil of the custom, and so is the rose in the middle of a ceiling rose, which is now just a fitting for a light. So a name that reads as the softest thing in the garden is attached to an old and rather serious promise about keeping your mouth shut.
Meaningscholars disagree
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.
How the name formed
- Hrodohaidis
- Rohese
- Rose
Related forms: Rosa · Rosa · Rose · Róża
Pronouncing 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.
Nicknames for Rose
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
- 1880
- Most boys named
- 192952 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #472reached in 1907
- Change vs 2017
- +16.7%7 in 2023, from 6
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.
Rose in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Rosa in Italian — same name
- Rosa in Spanish — same name
- Rose in French — same name
- Róża in Polish — same name
Roses among us
people named Rose 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
Rose 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
- 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.
- 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.
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What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Rose
Masculine
Frequently asked
- How many Roses 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 Rose are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Rose in 2025?
- Rose is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 boy names.
- Will my child share the name Rose with classmates?
- Rose 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 Rose? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Rose and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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