Rosemary
Feminine · Latin roots · “dew of the sea" (via the herb)”
Rosemary is overwhelmingly a girls’ name — 163,165 girls against 358 boys since 1880.
Rosemary is the rare given name that is also a plant you can crush between your fingers — an evergreen shrub whose Latin name, ros marinus, means dew of the sea. English speakers heard "rose" and "Mary" in those two syllables and reshaped the word to match, so the herb and the two saints' names have been braided together for centuries. It has been on American records for as long as such records have been kept, and it is climbing again.
How old is the name Rosemary?
Rosemary first appears in US birth records in 1882 — 143 years ago. The typical Rosemary alive today was born around 1946, making them about 79 years old. About 93,000 people named Rosemary are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Rosemary most popular?
Rosemary peaked in 1946, reaching #74 nationally. Today it ranks #251, 177 places below that high. See the whole 1946 chart.
Where it comes from
From ros marinus (Latin) to Rosemary
The story of Rosemary
The herb came first: Latin ros marinus traveled into English as rosmarine, then settled as rosemary once speakers reinterpreted the halves as familiar names. Rosemary carried a long European association with remembrance, which is why Shakespeare gives Ophelia the line "There's rosemary, that's for remembrance" in Hamlet, and why the sprig turned up at both weddings and funerals. As a given name it belongs mainly to the last century and a half, arriving with the broader Victorian and Edwardian taste for flower and plant names alongside Violet, Ivy and Rose. In German-speaking countries the parallel Rosemarie followed the same path, and both spread widely in the twentieth century.
Meaningscholars disagree
"dew of the sea" (via the herb), or Rose + Mary combined
Two readings compete, and both are real. The herb name descends from Latin ros marinus, "dew of the sea." But the English spelling was reshaped by folk association with the flower name Rose and the name Mary, and many families have used it deliberately as that compound — often to honor two relatives at once. Neither reading cancels the other; the name genuinely holds both.
How the name formed
- ros marinusLatin
- rosmarinus
- rosmarine
- rosemaryEnglish herb name
- Rosemary
Related forms: Rosemarie · Rose-Marie · Rosa María · Rosamaria · Roosmarijn · Rosemarie
Pronouncing Rosemary
ROHZ-mair-ee
Stress on the first syllable. Many American speakers reduce the middle to ROHZ-muh-ree; both are standard, and neither needs correcting.
Nicknames for Rosemary
High
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
- 1882
- Most girls named
- 19464,486 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #74reached in 1946
- Change vs 2022
- +40.0%1,222 in 2025, from 873
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.
Rosemary in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Rosemarie in German — same name
- Rose-Marie in French — same name
- Rosa María in Spanish — related form
- Rosamaria in Italian — related form
- Roosmarijn in Dutch — same name
- Rosemarie in English — spelling variant
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Texas, Ohio.
Rosemarys among us
people named Rosemary are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 1,315 born in 2025 was named Rosemary
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 Genevieve test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Rosemary's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Genevieve climbed just as high around 1914, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Genevieve's path sketches the road Rosemary is walking now.
Rosemary is on its second act. Revived names age gently: the generation that wore them first is far enough away that the name feels classic rather than dated.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Where Rosemary is headed
Rosemary looks set to keep climbing gently, with roughly 15% more babies a year by 2030 if the current curve holds.
High 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.
Rosemary beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Rosemary in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- The spelling is fixed by the herb, so almost no one has to have it spelled out twice.
- Ready-made short forms at several lengths — Rosie, Rose, Romy — none of which need inventing.
- Close cousins exist in German, French, Dutch, Spanish and Italian, so it travels without translation.
- An unbroken presence in American records stretching back to the earliest years they were kept.
- Familiar to every generation while still uncommon enough that a classroom repeat is unlikely.
- Ira Levin's novel and the film made from it, Rosemary's Baby, is the association some adults will reach for first. It fades quickly in practice, but it is worth knowing that the joke exists.
- The typical American Rosemary alive today is well into later life, so the name still reads as a grandmother's in many circles — part of why it sounds fresh again, and part of why some ears hear it as old-fashioned.
- Four syllables invites shortening, and Rosie will likely arrive whether or not you offer it.
- It is also a jar in the spice cabinet, which means occasional cooking jokes — mild, and the same trade every word-name makes.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Rosemary 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 Rosemary? Hide it among decoys and let them guess.
What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Rosemary
Feminine · Latin roots · #251 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Rosemarys are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 93,000 people named Rosemary are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Rosemary in 2025?
- Rosemary ranks #251 among US girl names in 2025, with 1,222 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Rosemary?
- About 1 in every 1,315 US girls born in 2025 was named Rosemary — 1,222 in all.
- Will my child share the name Rosemary with classmates?
- Rosemary will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Rosemary
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Lilly#252 · Rachel#250 · Rowan#249 · Kailani#253 · Reagan#248 · Faith#254 · Kaylee#255 · Amora#247
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Rosemary? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Rosemary 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.
Or jump into a head-to-head
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