Rosemary
First Name Meaning, Usage, Popularity & Related Names
Rosemary is a Latin name meaning “dew of the sea”. It is a popular name, overwhelmingly used for girls, with 99.99% female usage.
Meaning & Origin of the name Rosemary
Rosemary is a name of Latin origin that integrates two distinct botanical terms. It combines 'ros', meaning dew, and 'marinus', meaning of the sea, to form the Latin name 'rosmarinus'. While the herb has long been associated with botanical nomenclature, the name entered common usage as an honorific inspired by the floral associations of Mary or simply as a reference to the fragrant plant.
Meaning Comments
- Royalrebel25: The Rosemary plant (orig. Rosmarinus officinalis, now Salvia rosmarinus) is symbolic of remembrance, loyalty, love, wisdom, protection, & renewal.
- Agilitility: There is a poem called Rosemary by John Oxenham.
- Irish_trader: There is a song called 'Beautiful Rosemary' by Kriesler.
Gender Usage of the Name Rosemary
Overall Gender Classification Methodology
Rosemary is overwhelmingly used as a name for girls. Approximately 99.99% of recorded bearers are female. This classification is supported by extensive records and is considered highly reliable.
Popularity of the Name Rosemary
Rosemary is among the Top 24 Trending Girls’ name in the United States for 2026
Note: Green bars show popularity (% of births); the violet line shows historical ranking. Data is based on official government birth records. Click any chart to view details by year and region.
Overall PopularityMethodology
Rosemary is listed under Popular Girl Names worldwide. Its popularity is relatively consistent across the available regional markets.
| Region | Popularity | Birth Frequency |
|---|---|---|
| United States | Common | 1 in every 4.5K births |
| United Kingdom | Popular | 1 in every 2.0K births |
| Canada | Popular | 1 in every 8.3K births |
| Australia | Common | 1 in every 93K births |
Ranking OverviewMethodology
Rosemary ranked #373 on the Popular Girls’ Names Worldwide List (2025). It rose from #375 in 2024 — an improvement of 2 places. Rosemary maintains a steady presence among commonly used names.
Historically, its best recorded position was #35, achieved in 1945 and 1947. Its lowest recorded position was #851 in 2018. Over the last 5 years (2020–2025) the name fell -63 places (from #310 to #373).
Name StyleMethodology
Rosemary is classified as Timeless Girl Names because it appears across 100% of recorded years, averages 1,683 births per year over its full timeline, and still averages 1,514 births per year recently.Characteristics of the Name Rosemary
Pronunciation & StructureMethodology
- Phonetic Source
- CMU
- Syllables
- 3 syllables — Three-Syllable Girl Names
- Length
- 8 letters — Long Girl Names
- Starts with
- R — Girl Names Starting with R
- Ends with
- y — Girl Names Ending in “y”
Name AestheticMethodology
Rosemary features a three-syllable composition with a primary stress on the first syllable, lending it a classic and poised character. The name is culturally linked to Rosemary Kennedy and the title character in Rosemary's Baby, confirming an Elegant & Timeless aesthetic.
Middle Names For Rosemary
Middle names used with RosemaryMethodology
Rosemary is most frequently used with these girl middle names: Rosemary Ann · Rosemary Elizabeth · Rosemary Anne · Rosemary Jean · Rosemary LynnView all 564 girl middle names.
- Total 858 middle names used with Rosemary
- 56 boy middle names used with Rosemary
- 207 unisex middle names used with Rosemary
Middle name suggestions for RosemaryMethodology
Based on observed first-middle-name pattern combinations, Rosemary is most frequently associated with girl middle names that have Strong stress pattern, 5 letters, and a starting sound of “l”.
Examples: Rosemary Leigh · Rosemary Lynne · Rosemary Lynch · Rosemary Laine · Rosemary Leach. View all 82 suggested middle names.
Associations of the Name Rosemary
Flower AssociationsMethodology
As one of the Flower-Inspired Girl Names, Rosemary appears as part of the common names of 25 flower species, including:
- Rosemary (Rosmarinus L.) — Lamiaceae
- Etonia-rosemary (Conradina etonia Kral & McCartney) — Lamiaceae
Tree AssociationsMethodology
The name Rosemary, one of the Tree-Inspired Girl Names, appears as part of the common names of 2 plant species, including:
- Rosemary Willow (Salix elaeagnos Scop.) — Salicaceae
- Rosemary Willow (Salix eleagnos Scop.) — Salicaceae
Additional Natural MatchesMethodology
The complete dataset includes 35 biological records matching the name Rosemary. Browse all matching records with their scientific names and taxonomic details.
Names Similar to Rosemary
Sound Like Rosemary Finder
Names with the exact same overall pronunciation and sound: Rosemarie · Rosamaria · Rosmarie · View all 10 names
Spelled Like Rosemary Finder
Names with similar spelling patterns and letter sequences: Rosealy
Same Starting Sound Finder
Names that begin with a similar phonetic sound: Rebecca · Ruth · Rachel · View all Top 100 names
Rhymes With Rosemary Finder
Names that share similar ending sounds and rhymes: Mary · Dorothy · Emily · View all Top 100 names
Same Rhythm & Syllables Finder
Names with matching syllable stress and pronunciation rhythm: Andrea · Lilyann · Dawnmarie · View all Top 100 names
Dictionary & Etymology of “Rosemary”
Dictionary Meaning of "Rosemary"Methodology
A female given name from Latin
Examples
- "And you - you darling!" - addressing the astonished Rosemary - "will you love your grandmamma? Kiss me, my child." - - - "Oh, you tell fibs!" cried the child. "My name is Rose Marie Romarin - is it not, Grandpa?"
- Rosemary. A sweet dark name, though finally a shrill trite woman.
Translations
The name Rosemary has 8 translations, for example: in French it is rendered as female given name, etc..
More Info
How to Spell Rosemary in ASL
- R
- o
- s
- e
- m
- a
- r
- y
Comments on the name Rosemary
Community CommentsShowing 5 of 31 comments
Omgateaqilo
Remi, Rory and Rorie could be nicknames for Rosemary.
Plus_death4
Rosemary has appeared on the top 1000 list since the 1880's. Its most popular year was 1940's where it ranked 91.
Wkcqjd4bzzqq
ROZ-mə-ree is a chiefly British English pronunciation (and by extension used in Australia, New Zealand, etc.), whereas ROZ-mehr-ee is used in American English (and I believe in Canada as well).
Eric_sillva
This name can be pronounced ROZ-muh-ree and ROZ-MA-ree; both are correct.
Redline1029
The listed pronunciation is basically ROSE-Mary. The upside down e is a long a, like in air or Mary. This name is absolutely beautiful, as are nearly all the ros- names :) theres quite a few nicknames too, like ro, rose, Rosie, or Mary. I like it as Rosemary or Rose with the middle name Mary, or even Rose-Mary. Whatever floats your boat =P I just really wish this name would become more popular along with the other ros- names!