girls' name ★ peaked 1947

Rosemary

Gender Girl Rank 2025 #251 Trend ↑ Rising 56%

A combination of Rose +‎ Mary, referring to the flower as a symbol of Virgin Mary, first recorded in the eighteenth century.

Rank 2025
#251
among girls · ↑50 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
1,222
named Rosemary · +17% vs 2024
How common
1 in 1,315
girls born in 2025
Peak year
1947
4,542 babies
All-time total
163,523
#245 all-time among girls
First recorded
1882
in Social Security records

Rosemary popularity over time

163,523 babies have been named Rosemary since 1882, according to official Social Security records. Switch measure to see births per year or the yearly rank.

Measure
Births per 1,000 babies of that sex, comparable across eras
0.751.52.25318801900192019401960198020002020GirlsBoys
GirlsBoys

By decade. Change compares yearly averages, so the current partial decade is on equal footing. Best rank is the name's best yearly rank within the decade.

Decade Girls Boys Total Per year Change Best rank
1880s 73 – 73 7 – #669
1890s 200 – 200 20 +174% #563
1900s 634 – 634 63 +217% #328
1910s 7,079 – 7,079 708 +1017% #166
1920s 25,965 55 26,020 2,602 +268% #80
1930s 24,857 84 24,941 2,494 -4% #82
1940s 34,297 85 34,382 3,438 +38% #74
1950s 25,020 48 25,068 2,507 -27% #101
1960s 14,604 48 14,652 1,465 -42% #181
1970s 5,823 12 5,835 584 -60% #331
1980s 4,989 21 5,010 501 -14% #395
1990s 4,051 5 4,056 406 -19% #509
2000s 3,961 – 3,961 396 -2% #624
2010s 5,930 – 5,930 593 +50% #404
2020s (to 2025) 5,682 – 5,682 947 +60% #251

Where Rosemary is heading

A five-year projection from the recent trend in births per 1,000 girls (damped so it flattens over time), converted to babies at today's birth totals. The implied rank places that projection in the 2025 field. A projection, not a promise: real trends bend.

Year Projected babies Per 1,000 girls Implied rank
2026 1,314 0.82 #237
2027 1,397 0.87 #221
2028 1,471 0.92 #207
2029 1,538 0.96 #200
2030 1,597 0.99 #197

Where Rosemary is most popular

Girls named Rosemary per 1,000 girls born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 0.614 per 1,000. Strongest in Montana, Alaska, and Oregon.

Vs national average
well below below near national above well above no data

All 50 states and DC, sorted by rate. Counts are girls named Rosemary born 2021–2025; the per-1,000 rate makes states of different sizes comparable, and the last column shows each state against the national average.

State Girls 2021–2025 Per 1,000 vs national
Montana 21 1.55 +153%
Alaska 13 1.51 +146%
Oregon 92 1.41 +130%
Maine 20 1.29 +110%
Missouri 152 1.26 +105%
North Dakota 16 1.22 +98%
Tennessee 192 1.21 +97%
Idaho 40 1.20 +95%
Minnesota 127 1.18 +92%
Wisconsin 119 1.16 +88%
Utah 92 1.11 +80%
Kansas 63 1.09 +78%
Kentucky 92 1.08 +75%
Washington 155 1.07 +75%
Iowa 62 1.06 +73%
Nebraska 38 1.06 +72%
Alabama 97 1.03 +68%
Michigan 185 1.02 +65%
Mississippi 47 1.00 +64%
Virginia 170 0.997 +62%
South Dakota 14 0.981 +60%
Ohio 231 0.974 +58%
District of Columbia 11 0.928 +51%
Oklahoma 68 0.924 +50%
West Virginia 24 0.916 +49%
Indiana 125 0.890 +45%
Colorado 98 0.878 +43%
Arkansas 44 0.833 +36%
Maryland 87 0.821 +34%
Illinois 184 0.804 +31%
Louisiana 69 0.788 +28%
North Carolina 179 0.786 +28%
Pennsylvania 185 0.782 +27%
New Hampshire 14 0.758 +23%
Massachusetts 85 0.703 +14%
South Carolina 63 0.701 +14%
Georgia 156 0.687 +12%
Arizona 85 0.606 ≈ national
California 444 0.528 -14%
Hawaii 6 0.523 -15%
Nevada 24 0.517 -16%
Texas 387 0.481 -22%
New York 187 0.472 -23%
Connecticut 26 0.447 -27%
Florida 183 0.428 -30%
New Jersey 77 0.427 -31%
New Mexico 7 0.288 -53%
Delaware – – –
Rhode Island – – –
Vermont – – –
Wyoming – – –

State counts come from the Social Security Administration's state files, which omit any state-year with fewer than five babies of a name, so small states can undercount slightly.

The story of Rosemary

Rosemary is moderately common for girls in the United States, ranked #251 in 2025 with 1,222 babies given the name. It is currently rising compared with a decade ago.

Since 1882, 163,523 American babies have been named Rosemary. Its peak came in 1947, when 4,542 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 1940s.

The chart above shows the full history: the popularity view (births per 1,000 babies) is the honest comparison across generations, since total US births have changed enormously since 1880. Switch to the rank view to see where Rosemary stood among all girls' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Rosemary?

The median living Rosemary is about 67 years old; half are between 44 and 78. An estimated 94 thousand people named Rosemary are alive in the United States today.

median 67 020406080100

Estimated from births per year and Social Security period life tables; an approximation of the living age distribution, by age in years.

Rosemary year by year

Every year since 2001, and five-year steps back to 1880. Rank is within each sex.

Year Girls Girls rank Boys Boys rank
2025 1,222 #251 – –
2024 1,048 #301 – –
2023 995 #310 – –
2022 873 #365 – –
2021 846 #363 – –
2020 698 #442 – –
2019 771 #404 – –
2018 699 #453 – –
2017 699 #453 – –
2016 740 #436 – –
2015 607 #517 – –
2014 537 #570 – –
2013 563 #531 – –
2012 479 #601 – –
2011 439 #651 – –
2010 396 #714 – –
2009 404 #717 – –
2008 398 #746 – –
2007 406 #721 – –
2006 411 #689 – –
2005 362 #745 – –
2004 376 #712 – –
2003 403 #661 – –
2002 403 #634 – –
2001 401 #624 – –
2000 397 #631 – –
1995 403 #571 – –
1990 472 #509 5 #9,240
1985 512 #431 – –
1980 576 #395 – –
1975 534 #384 – –
1970 797 #331 – –
1965 1,276 #241 8 #3,197
1960 2,192 #181 – –
1955 2,015 #171 5 #4,304
1950 3,455 #101 7 #3,272
1945 3,500 #79 5 #3,700
1940 2,874 #85 10 #2,452
1935 2,394 #97 7 #3,206
1930 3,151 #82 – –
1925 2,755 #103 5 #4,768
1920 1,713 #141 – –
1915 820 #201 – –
1910 141 #329 – –
1905 64 #424 – –
1900 40 #539 – –
1895 23 #656 – –
1890 16 #689 – –
1885 5 #1,176 – –
1880 – – – –

Famous people named Rosemary

The most globally famous bearers of the name, ranked by fame across Wikipedia editions (Pantheon project, MIT).

  1. 1 Rosemary Kennedy Rosemary Kennedy Sister of John F. Kennedy (1918–2005) Contemporary
  2. 2 Rosemary Clooney Rosemary Clooney American singer and actress (1928–2002) Contemporary
  3. 3 Rosemary Harris Rosemary Harris English actress (born 1927) Contemporary
  4. 4 Rosemary Murphy Rosemary Murphy German-American actress (1925–2014) Contemporary
  5. 5 Rosemary Sutcliff Rosemary Sutcliff English novelist (1920–1992) Contemporary
  6. 6 Rosemary Casals Rosemary Casals American tennis player b. 1948 · Contemporary

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

Quick answers about Rosemary, drawn from the same Social Security data as the charts above.

How old is the average Rosemary?

The median living Rosemary is about 67 years old. Half of all living Rosemarys are between 44 and 78 years old.

How many people named Rosemary are alive today?

An estimated 94 thousand people named Rosemary are alive in the United States, based on 163,523 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Rosemary mean?

A combination of Rose +‎ Mary, referring to the flower as a symbol of Virgin Mary, first recorded in the eighteenth century.

How popular is the name Rosemary in 2025?

Rosemary ranked #251 among girls' names in the United States in 2025, with 1,222 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Rosemary?

163,523 babies have been named Rosemary in the United States since 1882, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Rosemary most popular?

Rosemary peaked in 1947, when 4,542 newborns received the name.

Is Rosemary a boy or girl name?

Rosemary is overwhelmingly a girl's name: 100% of babies with the name.

Is the name Rosemary rising or falling?

Rosemary is on the rise, noticeably more popular now than a decade ago.

Will Rosemary become more popular?

Rosemary is trending upward. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 1,597 girls named Rosemary in 2030, which would rank around #197. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Rosemary?

Well-known people named Rosemary include Rosemary Kennedy (celebrity), Rosemary Clooney (singer), Rosemary Harris (actor).

Names like Rosemary

Names that sound and feel close to Rosemary: shared sounds, similar era, similar popularity. Each links to its full history.

Compare Rosemary with similar names → More names starting with R →