girl's name
Rose
ROHZ
- Origin Latin
- Gender Girl
- Syllables 1
- Letters 4
- Popularity Top 1000 (US)
- Births on record 656,000
the United States
#114
2025 births
Rose is a girl's name of Latin origin naming the flower, from rosa. Its history is double: it entered England as a Norman name from the Germanic hrod, meaning fame, and only later merged with the flower word it happened to resemble.
- Rose is a name of Latin origin.
- Peaked in 1917, when 9,821 babies were given the name.
- After peaking in the 1910s it fell out of use, and is now climbing again — a classic revival.
- Today about 1 in 1,389 babies in the United States is given this name.
- 1 syllable, with the stress on syllable 1.
Rose over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1880s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1880s | 11,122 |
| 1890s | 21,228 |
| 1900s | 28,263 |
| 1910s | 74,965 |
| 1920s | 85,665 |
| 1930s | 59,520 |
| 1940s | 51,871 |
| 1950s | 66,891 |
| 1960s | 32,006 |
| 1970s | 11,453 |
| 1980s | 9,909 |
| 1990s | 8,508 |
| 2000s | 9,569 |
| 2010s | 17,533 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 14,201 |
What Rose means
Rose now means the flower, from the Latin rosa. Its earlier medieval sense was quite different — the Norman Roese and Rohese came from Germanic elements meaning fame and kind, and the floral reading attached itself afterwards.
Where Rose comes from
Rose has two histories that fused. The Normans brought Roese and Rohese to England, forms of a Germanic name built from hrod, fame, and possibly heid, kind — nothing to do with flowers. Because the name sounded like the Latin rosa, English speakers reinterpreted it as the flower, and by the Victorian period Rose was firmly a botanical name sitting alongside Lily and Violet. The flower itself carried heavy symbolic freight: the Wars of the Roses, the rose as an emblem of the Virgin Mary, and sub rosa, meaning in confidence, from the Roman practice of hanging a rose above a table where secrets were shared.
Rose in use
Rose began as a Germanic name meaning fame and was reinterpreted as the flower because the two sounded alike.
How popular is Rose?
In 2025, Rose was given to 2,386 babies in the United States, ranking #114 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Where Rose is used
US figures omit any name given to fewer than five babies in a year, so the rarest names are absent from the source rather than absent from use. Data & sources.
Names that peaked alongside Rose
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Rose also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Rose over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
1 nickname for Rose
Each one is a name in its own right — the figure underneath is how it is doing today, so you can see which short forms are rising and which have faded.
Rose in other languages
The same name as it is spelled elsewhere — not shortenings, and not different names that merely sound alike. Each one has its own record here.
Sibling names for Rose
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Rose — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Rose
What does the name Rose mean?
Rose names the flower, from the Latin rosa.
Was Rose always a flower name?
No. It came to England as a Germanic name meaning fame, and was reinterpreted as the flower because the two sounded alike.
Where does "sub rosa" come from?
From the Roman practice of hanging a rose above a table where confidences were exchanged.
How popular is the name Rose?
In 2025, Rose was given to 2,386 babies in the United States, ranking #114 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Is Rose a girl's or a boy's name?
Rose is given almost entirely to girls in birth records.
How many syllables are in Rose?
Rose has 1 syllable.
When was Rose most popular?
Rose peaked in 1917, when 9,821 babies were given the name. After peaking in the 1910s it fell out of use, and is now climbing again — a classic revival.
What are the nicknames for Rose?
Rose is usually shortened to Rosie.
Is Rose a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Rose currently ranks #6 in the United States. After peaking in the 1910s it fell out of use, and is now climbing again — a classic revival. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.