boy's name
Rossa
ROSS-uh
- Origin Irish
- Gender Boy
- Syllables 2
- Letters 5
- Popularity Top 100 (E&W)
- Births on record 585
Northern Ireland
#77
2024 births
Rossa is a boy's name of Irish origin from ros, a wooded headland, and it carries the memory of the Fenian whose funeral gave Irish republicanism its most quoted speech. It ranks 77th in Northern Ireland.
- Rossa is a name of Irish origin.
- Peaked in Ireland in 2025, when 25 babies were given the name.
- It has been rising over the past decade in Ireland.
- Today about 1 in 19,025 babies in England and Wales is given this name.
- First appears in birth records in 1968.
- 2 syllables, with the stress on syllable 1.
Rossa over time
Births per decade in Ireland, 1960s to 2020s. Rossa is more popular in Northern Ireland — see the country table below. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1960s | 4 |
| 1970s | 32 |
| 1980s | 35 |
| 1990s | 19 |
| 2000s | 70 |
| 2010s | 80 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 90 |
What Rossa means
Rossa means of the headland, or of the wood, from the Irish ros — the name says where someone is from rather than anything about them. A separate Italian Rossa, unconnected to it, means red, and is a women's name.
Where Rossa comes from
Rossa comes from the Irish ros, a wooded point or promontory, which appears across the Irish landscape in Roscommon, Roscrea and Rosscarbery. Its modern use follows one man: Jeremiah O'Donovan Rossa, born in Rosscarbery in 1831, a founder of the Phoenix Society and a leading Fenian, imprisoned under brutal conditions and exiled to the United States. He added Rossa to his name as a territorial epithet, in the old Gaelic manner of marking which branch of a family one belonged to. His funeral at Glasnevin in August 1915 was the occasion of Patrick Pearse's graveside oration, which closes with the line about a fool's Ireland holding Irish graves — a speech that is generally read as the opening move of the Easter Rising eight months later. The name is therefore a political one in Ireland in a way it is nowhere else. An entirely separate Rossa exists in Italian, the feminine of rosso, red, from the Latin russus, and it is used there as a women's name — several reference sites give only that reading and miss the Irish one altogether, which reverses the actual position in the markets where the name is currently used.
Rossa in use
Rossa ranks 77th in Northern Ireland with 31 births in 2024 and 191st in Ireland. It is new in our data — our records carry it only from 2025, which reflects when it first cleared the reporting threshold rather than when it first appeared. It is unused outside the island. The name is also familiar in Ireland through the many GAA clubs named for O'Donovan Rossa.
How popular is Rossa?
In 2024, Rossa was given to 31 babies in England and Wales, ranking #77 that year. It is one of the most popular names in England and Wales.
Where Rossa is used
Irish figures withhold any name given to fewer than three babies in a year, so a gap means the name fell below that floor rather than went unused. The Central Statistics Office began recording the síneadh fada in 2018, so accented and unaccented spellings are counted separately from that year on. Data & sources.
Names that peaked alongside Rossa
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Rossa also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Rossa over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
Rossa 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 Rossa
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Rossa — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Rossa
What does the name Rossa mean?
Rossa means "of the headland" or "of the wood," from the Irish ros.
Who was O'Donovan Rossa?
A Fenian leader whose 1915 funeral was the occasion of Pearse's graveside oration, read as a prelude to the Easter Rising.
Is Rossa the same as Ross?
They share the root ros. Ross is the shorter form and is also a Scottish surname and place name.
How popular is Rossa?
Seventy-seventh in Northern Ireland and 191st in Ireland.
Is Rossa an Italian name?
There is a separate Italian Rossa meaning red, the feminine of rosso. It is unrelated to the Irish name and is used for girls.
Is Rossa a girl's or a boy's name?
Rossa is given almost entirely to boys in birth records.
How many syllables are in Rossa?
Rossa has 2 syllables.
Is Rossa a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Rossa currently ranks #77 in Ireland. It has been rising over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.