Rosslyn
Feminine · “the point at the pool”
Rosslyn Chapel in Midlothian was begun in 1446 and never finished, and its interior is carved to a density that nothing else in Scotland approaches — a hundred and ten green men, a pillar wound about with a spiral of foliage, and vaults covered in cubes nobody has explained. The name means the point above the waterfall.
How old is the name Rosslyn?
Rosslyn first appears in US birth records in 1940 — 85 years ago. The typical Rosslyn alive today was born around 2006, making them about 19 years old. About 700 people named Rosslyn are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Rosslyn most popular?
Rosslyn peaked in 1950, reaching #2781 nationally. Today it ranks #11932, 9,151 places below that high. See the whole 1950 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From ros to Rosslyn
The story of Rosslyn
Linn is one of those Scots words that does not exist in standard English: it means the pool at the foot of a waterfall, and by extension the fall itself, and it appears in place names across Scotland and northern England. Rosslyn sits on a promontory in the North Esk gorge, which is exactly what the two elements describe. The chapel there was built by a Sinclair earl and left incomplete when he died; the carving is the reason people come, and the Apprentice Pillar has a story attached — the master mason killed the apprentice who carved it better than he could — that is told about half a dozen European buildings and is probably true of none of them.
Meaningscholars disagree
the point at the pool
From Scots and Gaelic elements: ros, a promontory or point, with linn, a pool below a waterfall. Both are ordinary landscape words in Scotland. A reading from Latin rosa and Lynn is offered in name books and does not fit the place, which is where the name comes from.
How the name formed
- ros
- linn
- Rosslyn
Pronouncing Rosslyn
ROSS-lin
Two syllables, stress on the first, with the short o of loss. Roslyn with one s is said the same way, though the single s tempts English readers toward the o of rose.
Nicknames for Rosslyn
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
- 1940
- Most girls named
- 201533 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #2781reached in 1950
- Change vs 2024
- −36.4%7 in 2025, from 11
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.
Rosslyn in other languages
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Texas.
Rosslyns among us
people named Rosslyn are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 229,610 born in 2025 was named Rosslyn
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 Madalyne test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Rosslyn's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Madalyne climbed just as high around 1922, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Madalyne's path sketches the road Rosslyn is walking now.
Rosslyn 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
Rosslyn beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Rosslyn in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- A documented Scottish place with a name that can be taken apart into two landscape words.
- Three short forms, two of which are full names in their own right.
- Two syllables and a spelling that fixes the vowel.
- Roslyn and Rosalyn are both commoner in America and neither has the same vowel.
- The chapel has been attached to a great deal of speculative literature, which some people will mention.
- It looks like a Rose name and is not one.
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What they receive
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Rosslyn
Feminine · #11932 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Rosslyns are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 700 people named Rosslyn are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Rosslyn in 2025?
- Rosslyn ranks #11932 among US girl names in 2025, with 7 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Rosslyn?
- About 1 in every 229,610 US girls born in 2025 was named Rosslyn — 7 in all.
- Will my child share the name Rosslyn with classmates?
- Rosslyn will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Rosslyn
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Vina#11932 · Retta#11932 · Missouri#11932 · Iola#11932 · Eddie#11932 · Thomas#11932 · Louetta#11932 · Elvina#11932
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Rosslyn? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Rosslyn and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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