Rose
Rose was the 114th most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 2,386 babies. Its best year was 1911, when it ranked 14th; the most babies were born in 1917 (9,783). Over the last ten years it has moved up 52 places. More babies were named Rose in the 1920s than in any other decade.
Meaning rose (flower); originally Germanic 'fame' + 'kind' · Germanic, Latin, English
Say it ROHZ /roʊz/
- Rank in 2025
- #114 girls, down 2 places since 2020
- Babies in 2025
- 2,386girls
- Girls and boys
- Almost always a girl’s name2021–2025
- Peak year
- 19179,783 babies
- Total since 1880
- 502,704babies recorded
What does the name Rose mean?
Rose looks like the flower name, and that is how most people read it today. DMNES shows that the medieval name was originally Germanic, from hrod, 'fame', and heit, 'kind, sort', brought to England by the Normans in forms like Rohese, and later reshaped by Latin rosa, 'rose'. Wikipedia and Wiktionary give the same double history. Rose is also used as a short form of names like Rosemary and Rosalind.
hruod (Old High German, “fame”)heit (Old High German, “kind, sort”)rosa (Latin, “rose”)
How sure is this? Probable. The medieval name is Germanic; the modern name is understood as the flower. Both are documented.
Related names: Rosa, Rosie, Rosalie, Rosalind, Rosemary, Roza.
See also: Germanic names, names that mean flower.
Sources for this meaning
- Dictionary of Medieval Names from European Sources, ed. S. L. Uckelman, Edition 2023 no. 1, s.v. 'Rose', Durham University / The DMNES Editors
- Wiktionary, entry 'Rose', Wiktionary (Wikimedia Foundation); facts restated, no text reused
- Wikipedia, 'Rose (given name)', Wikipedia (Wikimedia Foundation); facts restated, no text reused
Nicknames for Rose
The usual nicknames for Rose are Rosie. Some parents skip the long form: for every 100 girls named Rose in the last five years, 36 were named Rosie, against 12 twenty years earlier.
| Nickname | Kind | Rank 2025 | Girls, 5 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rosie · also for Rosalie, Rosemary, Rosalia | Traditional | #283 | 4,298 |
Nicknames reviewed by our editors; counts are girls given the nickname as their legal first name. Nobody records how many Roses go by each one.
Rose popularity since 1880
A few boys are given the name too: 2,118 since 1880.
| Year | Rank (girls) | Babies (girls) |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #114 | 2,386 |
| 2020 | #112 | 2,380 |
| 2010 | #334 | 965 |
| 2000 | #299 | 1,080 |
| 1990 | #307 | 901 |
| 1980 | #225 | 1,134 |
| 1970 | #183 | 1,778 |
| 1960 | #98 | 4,882 |
| 1950 | #69 | 5,376 |
| 1940 | #44 | 5,198 |
| 1930 | #29 | 7,688 |
| 1920 | #20 | 9,011 |
| 1910 | #16 | 3,837 |
| 1900 | #18 | 2,844 |
| 1890 | #25 | 1,725 |
| 1880 | #30 | 700 |
How popular is Rose, counting every spelling?
Rose is the most common spelling of a name family that ranked #141 for girls in 2025 once every spelling is counted together, compared with #114 for Rose on its own. Together these spellings went to 2,386 girls in 2025.
| Spelling | Babies 2025 | Official rank | Babies 2021–2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rose | 2,386 | #114 | 11,807 |
| Roze | — | — | 30 |
Spellings count together when they sound the same in American English and are used for the same sex; nicknames and forms that sound different (such as Theo and Theodore) are kept apart. How we group spellings.
How many kids will share the name Rose?
2,386 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named Rose (0.66 per 1,000 births). For a girl named Rose born in 2025, the chance that another child with the same name is in a class of 20 children the same age is under 1 in 50. If every grade liked the name as much as the 2025 babies do, only about one elementary school in 4 (of 430 pupils) would have a child named Rose.
Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.
How old are people named Rose?
About 192,000 people born in the US named Rose are alive today, with a median age of 66; half are between 35 and 75. That makes Rose a name most people associate with older generations. The wide spread shows a name popular in two different eras.
Babies given the name each year (SSA) times the share of that birth year still alive (SSA life tables). Counts people born in the US only. Method.
Rose by state
How common Rose was among girls born in each state in 2021–2025. It is notably more common than nationally in District of Columbia (3.3×), Rhode Island (2.6×), Alaska (2.5×), Maine (2.5×), Hawaii (2.5×). It is least common, relative to the national rate, in Alabama, Mississippi, Texas.
Names with a similar history
These names rose and fell in step with Rose: their share of US girls followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Rose, they share its era and feel.
Middle names for Rose · Sibling names for Rose
Rose is also a nickname for Rosemary.
Questions about the name Rose
What does Rose mean?
Rose means “rose (flower); originally Germanic 'fame' + 'kind'” (Germanic, Latin, English origin). Certainty: probable.
How popular is the name Rose?
Rose was the 114th most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 2,386 babies. Its best year was 1911, when it ranked 14th; the most babies were born in 1917 (9,783). Over the last ten years it has moved up 52 places. More babies were named Rose in the 1920s than in any other decade.
Is Rose a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, almost always a girl’s name given the name Rose in the US.
Where is Rose most popular?
In 2021–2025, Rose was most common in District of Columbia (4.72 per 1,000 girls), followed by Wyoming and Rhode Island.