Girl · Latin · International · Christian
Rosa
RosaSay it ROH-zuh
Rosa meaning
Rosa is an international and Christian girl's name of Latin origin.
A rose; Latin rosa
Rosa is the Latin word for the rose, and the form of the name used in Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Dutch and German. Lewis & Short give rosa as the rose and the rose-bush, used for garlands and feasts, and note that the Roman playwright Plautus has a lover call his sweetheart mea rosa, "my rose"; the word is related to Greek rhodon. St Rose of Lima, Santa Rosa, was the first saint of the Americas. In modern times Rosa Parks, whose refusal to give up her bus seat sparked the Montgomery bus boycott, made the name famous. It is said ROH-zuh, and it means the same as Gulab.
Source: Lewis & Short, A Latin Dictionary (1879) · entry rosa · See the entry · checked 25 Oct 2026
References: Lewis & Short, rosa (Logeion)
Famous namesakes
- Rosa Parks, American civil-rights activist
- St Rose of Lima (Santa Rosa), first canonised saint of the Americas
Popularity abroad
- #653 United States, girls 2025 (up 9 from 662 in 2024)
US Social Security Administration - #96 England and Wales, girls 2025
Office for National Statistics
Official birth registrations. India publishes no national name statistics.