Rosalie
A feminine name of Latin origin meaning "little rose".
Name Census estimates that about 40,688 living Americans carry the first name Rosalie. It sits at #177 in the overall ranking, outside the top 50 but still well-represented. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Rosalie today is around 39 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Rosalie births was 1938 (3,770 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Rosalie. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Rosalie with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Although Rosalie is used almost entirely for girls, the SSA data does show 96 boys registered with the name since 1880.
People living today
41K
~ 1 in 8,424 Americans
Peak year
1938
3,770 babies that year
Average age
39
years old
1957 SSA rank
#177
Tracked since 1880
Census
Rosalie in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 42,086 people with the first name Rosalie, which placed it at #1,015 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#1,015
National first-name rank
People counted
42K
42,086 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
13.9
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
70.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Rosalie
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Rosalie is White at 70.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (16.9%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (4.8%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Rosalie described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Rosalie at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White70.7% · 29,750
- Hispanic or Latino16.9% · 7,131
- Asian and Pacific Islander4.8% · 2,001
- Black or African American4.1% · 1,713
- Two or more races2.8% · 1,169
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 322
Gender
Gender distribution for Rosalie
Out of the 82,335 babies given the name Rosalie since 1880, 99.9% were registered as female. The name sits firmly on the female side of the spectrum, with only a handful of male registrations across the entire dataset.
Rosalie as a male name
- Ranked #4,457 in 1957
- 5 male births in 1957
- Peak: 1938 (12 births)
Rosalie as a female name
- Ranked #177 in 2024
- 1,699 female births in 2024
- Peak: 1938 (3,758 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Rosalie appears almost entirely female. Of the 42,079 people counted with this name, 99.9% were female and only a very small share were male.
Popularity
Rosalie: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Rosalie from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 15 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1930s, with 13,763 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1930s peak, Rosalie remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Rosalie by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Rosalie during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Rosalies live
The SSA's state-level files cover 51 states and territories. New York, California, Pennsylvania recorded the most babies named Rosalie, while Wyoming, Alaska, Hawaii recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 1,465 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Rosalie
The name Rosalie has its origins in the Latin language, derived from the combination of two words: "rosa" meaning rose, and "lilia" meaning lily. This enchanting name, therefore, translates to "rose lily" or "beautiful rose," symbolizing the loveliness and grace associated with these flowers. Its roots can be traced back to ancient Roman times, when the rose held significant cultural and symbolic value, often associated with love, beauty, and admiration.
During the Middle Ages, the name Rosalie gained popularity across Europe, particularly in regions with strong Roman Catholic influence. It was embraced as a Christian name, reflecting the devotion to the Virgin Mary, who was often depicted with roses as a symbol of purity and love. The name's melodic sound and floral connotations made it a beloved choice among aristocratic families and the nobility.
One of the earliest recorded mentions of the name Rosalie can be found in the 12th century, in the writings of the French poet Chrétien de Troyes. His romantic tales and poetry helped popularize the name throughout France and other parts of Europe. Additionally, the 13th-century Italian writer Dante Alighieri made reference to a character named Rosalie in his famous work, the Divine Comedy.
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Rosalie. In the 16th century, Rosalie Venerini (1613-1678), an Italian religious educator and founder of the Order of the Venerini Sisters, dedicated her life to the education of young girls. Another prominent figure was Rosalie de Constant (1758-1834), a Swiss writer and salonnière who hosted influential literary gatherings in Paris during the French Revolution.
In the 19th century, Rosalie Calori (1856-1928), an Italian painter and activist, gained recognition for her vibrant portraits and advocacy for women's rights. Rosalie Edge (1877-1962), an American environmentalist and conservationist, played a crucial role in establishing the first federally protected wilderness area in the United States, the Hawk Mountain Sanctuary.
More recently, Rosalie Crutchley (1920-1997), a British actress and dancer, graced the stage and screen with her talent and charm. Rosalie Woodruff Judson (1933-2019), an American author and educator, made significant contributions to children's literature, promoting diversity and inclusivity through her works.
The name Rosalie has endured through the ages, capturing the essence of beauty, elegance, and admiration. Its rich history and floral symbolism have made it a beloved choice for parents seeking a name with timeless charm and cultural significance.
People
Rosalie + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Rosalie as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with R
Other first names starting with R with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Rosalie: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Rosalie?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 40,688 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Rosalie going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 8,424 US residents.
Is Rosalie a common name?
We classify Rosalie as "Uncommon". It ranks above 99% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 82,335 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Rosalie most popular?
The single biggest year for Rosalie was 1938, when 3,770 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Rosalie is about 39 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Rosalie in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 42,086 people with the name Rosalie, or 13.93 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #1,015 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Rosalie in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Rosalie?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Rosalie appears almost entirely female. Of the 42,079 people counted with this name, 99.9% were female and only a very small share were male. The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Rosalie?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Rosalie is White at 70.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (16.9%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (4.8%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Rosalie most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Rosalie in the 2020 Census, accounting for 70.7% (29,750 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Rosalie in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Rosalie a female name?
Yes, 99.9% of people registered as Rosalie in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Rosalie still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Rosalie in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Rosalie can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How common is the name Rosalie?
For a quick modern take, check how many people share the name Rosalie on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.