Rosemary

Where Rosemary comes from

A combination of Rose + Mary, referring to the flower as a symbol of Virgin Mary, first recorded in the eighteenth century. It is found in continental Europe as Rosemarie and Rosa Maria. After mid-nineteenth century when flower names became common it may also refer to the herb rosemary, Latin ros marinus "dew of the sea".
— Wiktionary's entry for Rosemary
  • Latin
  • 3 syllables
  • Vowel-ended
Along the way
  1. 1882
    First appearance
    #634 among girls, 9 babies — the first year at least five got the name.
  2. 1927
    Rosemary Harris born
    British actress
  3. 1928
    Rosemary Clooney born
    American singer and actress
  4. 1946
    Peak, #74
    4,486 babies named Rosemary — more than any year before or since.
  5. 1954
    The fade
    The first year with half the peak's births — down to #160.
In the dictionary
  • A female given name from Latin.
Namesakes
  • Rosemary Clooney · American singer and actress, 1928–2002
  • Rosemary Harris · British actress, born 1927
  • Rosemary Casals · US tennis player, born 1948
  • Rosemary Murphy · German-American actress, 1925–2014
  • Rosemary Radford Ruether · American theologian, 1936–2022

Sources: the origin note and dictionary entry are quoted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0); the namesakes come from Wikidata (CC0); the milestones are worked out from the SSA record.