# Rosemary (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/rosemary/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. US counts from the Social Security Administration; England and Wales counts from the Office for National Statistics; meaning and etymology from Wiktionary. Data updated 2026-11-11.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Usually given to | girls |
| Origin | Latin |
| Meaning | “dew of the sea” |
| Pronunciation | /ˈɹoʊzˌmɛəɹi/, 3 syllables |
| Nicknames | Rosie |
| Variant spellings | Rosemarie |
| US babies named this | 163,523 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 358 / 163,165 (100% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 2,301, 1996 to 2025 |

## Etymology

A combination of Rose + Mary, referring to the flower as a symbol of Virgin Mary, first recorded in the eighteenth century. It is found in continental Europe as Rosemarie and Rosa Maria. After mid-nineteenth century when flower names became common it may also refer to the herb rosemary, Latin ros marinus "dew of the sea".

## What it means

Rosemary is grouped under sea.

## Popularity

The last 15 years of each series. A year is missing when too few babies were given the name for the agency to publish it: five in the US, three in England and Wales.

### United States, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 439 | 651 |
| 2012 | 479 | 601 |
| 2013 | 563 | 531 |
| 2014 | 537 | 570 |
| 2015 | 607 | 517 |
| 2016 | 740 | 436 |
| 2017 | 699 | 453 |
| 2018 | 699 | 453 |
| 2019 | 771 | 404 |
| 2020 | 698 | 442 |
| 2021 | 846 | 363 |
| 2022 | 873 | 365 |
| 2023 | 995 | 310 |
| 2024 | 1,048 | 301 |
| 2025 | 1,222 | 251 |

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1957 | 7 | 3,507 |
| 1959 | 6 | 3,920 |
| 1962 | 9 | 3,006 |
| 1963 | 5 | 4,521 |
| 1964 | 7 | 3,550 |
| 1965 | 8 | 3,197 |
| 1967 | 6 | 3,899 |
| 1968 | 6 | 4,056 |
| 1969 | 7 | 3,865 |
| 1971 | 6 | 4,818 |
| 1977 | 6 | 5,710 |
| 1981 | 8 | 4,876 |
| 1983 | 5 | 7,120 |
| 1989 | 8 | 6,110 |
| 1990 | 5 | 9,240 |

### England and Wales, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 50 | 749 |
| 2012 | 57 | 712 |
| 2013 | 52 | 750 |
| 2014 | 65 | 625 |
| 2015 | 59 | 686 |
| 2016 | 60 | 684 |
| 2017 | 56 | 728 |
| 2018 | 69 | 596 |
| 2019 | 71 | 570 |
| 2020 | 87 | 463 |
| 2021 | 63 | 616 |
| 2022 | 92 | 457 |
| 2023 | 82 | 485 |
| 2024 | 83 | 483 |
| 2025 | 81 | 490 |

## In other languages

- Arabic: إِكْلِيل اَلْجَبَل
- French: Rose-Marie
- German: Rosemarie
- Italian: Mariarosa
- Polish: Rosemary
- Russian: Ро́змари
- Swedish: Rose-Marie, Ros-Marie

## People named Rosemary

- Rosemary Clooney, American singer and actress (1928–2002)
- Rosemary Harris, British actress
- Rosemary Murphy, German-American actress (1925–2014)
- Rosemary Radford Ruether, American theologian (1936–2022)
- Rosemary Sutcliff, English novelist (1920–1992)
- Rosemary DeCamp, American actress (1910–2001)
- Rosemary Leach, British actress (1935–2017)
- Rosemary Forsyth, American actress
- Rosemary Dunsmore, Canadian actress
- Rosemary Theby, actress (1892-1973)
- Rosemary West, British serial killer
- Rosemary Popa, Australian and American rower

## How to read these numbers

A count is babies registered with that name in that year, not people alive now, so a name common a century ago can have a large total and few recent births.