Rosana
Feminine form of the Late Latin name Rosanus, derived from rosa meaning "rose".
Name Census estimates that about 1,946 living Americans carry the first name Rosana. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Rosana today is around 44 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Rosana births was 1983 (78 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Rosana. 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 Rosana with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
1.9K
~ 1 in 176,133 Americans
Peak year
1983
78 babies that year
Average age
44
years old
2024 SSA rank
#8,828
Tracked since 1885
Census
Rosana in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 5,203 people with the first name Rosana, which placed it at #3,803 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
#3,803
National first-name rank
People counted
5.2K
5,203 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
1.7
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
64.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Rosana
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Rosana is Hispanic at 64.2%. The next largest groups are White (19.1%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (10.7%). 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 Rosana 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 Rosana at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino64.2% · 3,339
- White19.1% · 994
- Asian and Pacific Islander10.7% · 555
- Black or African American4.7% · 245
- Two or more races1.1% · 55
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 15
Popularity
Rosana: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Rosana from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 15 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 517 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1980s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Rosana 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 Rosana during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Rosanas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 7 states and territories. California, Texas, New York recorded the most babies named Rosana, while Arizona, Illinois, New Jersey recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 150 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Rosana
The name Rosana has its origins in the Latin language, derived from the Latin word "rosa" meaning "rose." The name likely emerged during the Middle Ages in various regions of Europe where Latin was prevalent.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Rosana can be traced back to a 12th-century Italian noblewoman, Rosana de' Medici, who was a member of the influential Medici family in Florence. The name was also mentioned in several medieval Latin texts and religious manuscripts, often associated with the symbolism of the rose in Christian traditions.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Rosana. In the 16th century, Rosana Pisana (1500-1573) was an Italian painter and engraver known for her works in religious art. In the 18th century, Rosana Torella (1720-1785) was an Italian philosopher and writer who advocated for women's education and rights.
Moving into the 19th century, Rosana Arquer (1845-1920) was a Catalan poet and writer whose works explored themes of love, nature, and the Catalan identity. In the realm of music, Rosana Carteri (1886-1968) was an Italian operatic soprano who performed in several notable opera houses across Europe.
Another significant figure was Rosana Paulino (1901-1969), a Brazilian journalist and activist who campaigned for women's suffrage and played a crucial role in the fight for gender equality in Brazil.
These are just a few examples of individuals who have carried the name Rosana throughout history, each leaving their mark in various fields and contributing to the cultural and social fabric of their respective eras.
People
Rosana + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Rosana 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
Rosana: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Rosana?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,946 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Rosana 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 176,133 US residents.
Is Rosana a common name?
We classify Rosana as "Rare". It ranks above 93.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 2,543 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Rosana most popular?
The single biggest year for Rosana was 1983, when 78 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Rosana is about 44 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Rosana in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 5,203 people with the name Rosana, or 1.72 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #3,803 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 Rosana 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 Rosana?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Rosana appears almost entirely female. Of the 5,200 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 Rosana?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Rosana is Hispanic at 64.2%. The next largest groups are White (19.1%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (10.7%). 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 Rosana most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Rosana in the 2020 Census, accounting for 64.2% (3,339 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 Rosana in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Rosana a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Rosana 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 Rosana still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Rosana 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 Rosana 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 many people are called Rosana?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.