Rosela
A feminine name derived from the Spanish word for "rose".
Name Census estimates that about 24 living Americans carry the first name Rosela. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Rosela today is around 57 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Rosela births was 1971 (8 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Rosela. 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.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Rosela. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
24
~ 1 in 14,281,431 Americans
Peak year
1971
8 babies that year
Average age
57
years old
1986 SSA rank
#12,356
Tracked since 1919
Census
Rosela in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 387 people with the first name Rosela, which placed it at #24,748 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
#24,748
National first-name rank
People counted
387
387 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
48.3% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Rosela
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Rosela is Hispanic at 48.3%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (28.7%) and White (11.1%). 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 Rosela 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 Rosela at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino48.3% · 187
- Asian and Pacific Islander28.7% · 111
- White11.1% · 43
- Black or African American10.9% · 42
- Two or more races1.0% · 4
Popularity
Rosela: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Rosela from the 1910s through to the 1980s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 17 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1920s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Rosela 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 Rosela during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Roselas live
Origin
Meaning and history of Rosela
The name Rosela has its origins in the Latin language, deriving from the feminine form of the word "rosellus," which means "little rose." This name first emerged during the Medieval period in regions where Latin was spoken, such as parts of Europe and the Mediterranean.
Rosela was likely influenced by the prevalence of rose imagery in Christian symbolism and art during this time. The rose was often associated with the Virgin Mary and represented virtues such as purity, love, and beauty. As a result, names related to roses became popular choices for baby girls.
One of the earliest known references to the name Rosela can be found in the records of a Benedictine monastery in northern Italy, dating back to the 12th century. A nun named Rosela is mentioned as a member of the religious community.
In the 13th century, a Spanish noblewoman named Rosela de Aragón was renowned for her philanthropic work and patronage of the arts. She founded several hospitals and churches throughout the Kingdom of Aragon.
During the Renaissance period, the name Rosela gained popularity among aristocratic families in Italy. Rosela Borgia, born in 1476, was a member of the influential Borgia family and was known for her intelligence and artistic talents.
In the 16th century, a notable figure named Rosela Rubens was the sister of the famous Flemish painter, Peter Paul Rubens. She was an accomplished artist in her own right and often modeled for her brother's paintings.
Another historical figure bearing the name Rosela was a French resistance fighter during World War II. Rosela Lecomte, born in 1920, played a crucial role in aiding Allied forces and was later recognized for her bravery with numerous military honors.
Throughout history, variations of the name Rosela have been used in different cultures and languages, such as Rosella, Rosalie, and Rosa. However, the name Rosela retains its connection to the iconic rose and its symbolism of beauty, love, and purity.
People
Rosela + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Rosela 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
Rosela: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Rosela?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 24 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Rosela 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 14,281,431 US residents.
Is Rosela a common name?
We classify Rosela as "Very Rare". It ranks above 43% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 56 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Rosela most popular?
The single biggest year for Rosela was 1971, when 8 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Rosela is about 57 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Rosela in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 387 people with the name Rosela, or 0.13 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #24,748 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 Rosela 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 Rosela?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Rosela appears almost entirely female. Of the 394 people counted with this name, 99.2% 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 Rosela?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Rosela is Hispanic at 48.3%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (28.7%) and White (11.1%). 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 Rosela most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Rosela in the 2020 Census, accounting for 48.3% (187 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 Rosela in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Rosela a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Rosela 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 Rosela still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Rosela 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 Rosela 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 have Rosela as a first name?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.