Feistier and bolder than dainty Rose, but just as sweet.
Rosa is a vintage gem with pan-European appeal.
Origin: |
Rosa is the Latin name for the rose, a flower which has been of symbolic importance for milennia. The rose has been the sacred symbol of many important goddesses associated with love, such as Ishtar, Aphrodite, Isis and Venus. It was later used as such for the Virgin Mary under the titles Rosa Munda "pure rose," Rosa Mundi "rose of the world," Rosa Mystica "the mystical rose" and Rosa d'Abril "April rose." Long before Rosa was adopted as a given name in honour of the flower, however, it was used as a Latin form of the Norman name Roheis (also found as Rohais, Rohese and Roese). These names in turn were Latinised as Rohesia, Roesia and Roesa and later became Royce and Rose. By the 13th century, Rose was the common form -- by which time it was associated with the flower -- and Rosa was the Latin form most commonly found in records. Like Rosalind and Rosamund, Roheis may derive from hros "horse." However, a more tempting possibility is that it derives from the Old Germanic name Hrodohaidis, derived from hrod "fame" and heit "sort, kind, type." The are a few examples of the name in early Frankish nobility including Ruodhaid (775–810), abbess of Faremoutiers, and a daughter of the great king Charlemagne. The move from Hrodohaidis to Rohesia and eventually to Rose/Rosa, with the gradually dropping of the harder consonants, is mirrored in the similar Germanic name Adalheidis (adal "noble" and heit "sort"): Other Germanic names starting with hrod are plentiful: Hrodebert (Robert), Hroderich (Roderick), Hrodgar (Roger), Hrodland (Roland), Hrodulf (Rolf), Hrotsuitha (Roswitha), |
Usage: |
As a variant of Roheis, examples of Rosa in British records date back to at least the 13th century. There are two Rosas in the 1379 Poll Tax of Yorkshire and in the Hundred Rolls of 1273. However, as it was common to write names in both vernacular and Latinised forms in records up until at least the 17th century, it is impossible to separate Rosa from Rose in records. They were essentially the same name. Rose itself was not uncommon from the 14th century onwards. It appears in thirteen out of sixteen decades in Smith Bannister's rank of top 50 names from 1538 to 1670 in England: Given that it is the Latin form, Rosa was the vernacular form of the name in Italian, Spanish and Portuguese speaking countries. so it is unsurprising to find it there also from the Middle Ages. St Rose of Lima (1586–1617), or Santa Rosa in her native tongue, was a native of Peru known for her charitable works. Her birth name was Isabel, but she adopted the name Rosa in childhood. Stories vary as to why. Some say she was given the name because she was a beautiful baby; others say her nursemaids saw a vision of a rose appear over her cot (or that her face was transformed briefly into the image of a rose). In Britain, Rosa came into use as a name in its own right in the 18th century, becoming fashionable alongside other romantic Latinate names such as Maria, Sophia, Julia and Amelia. In 1860, Rosa ranked #54, just below Rose at #49. It was #43 in 1870, #52 in 1880, #73 in 1890 and #91 in 1900. Data from the 1881 census lists 27,828 women with the name Rosa, giving it an overall rank (male and female names combined) of #118. The distribution of the name was largely situated in the South of England, particularly in Surrey and Norfolk. In the 20th century, Rosa's fortunes very much followed that of Rose, declining by the 1930s, only to rise again in the 1990s.
In 1996, Rosa ranked #459 with 63 births, rising to #263 (179 births) in 2006. In 2013 it ranked #204 with 249 births. Rosa has also been rising in Scotland, from #484 (5 births) in 1994, #308 (10 births) in 2004 and #174 (27 births) in 2014, a rise from #213 in 2013. |
Famous Bearers: |
History: * St Rose of Lima "Santa Rosa" (1586–1617), the patron saint of Latin America. Contemporary: * Rosa López (b. 1981), Spanish singer. Literature and other Media: * Rosa Dartle, a character in Charles Dickens' David Copperfield. Other: * 223 Rosa, an asteroid. |
Variants: |
Roza (Bulgarian, Russian, Slavic), Róża (Polish), Ruža (Croatian, Slavic), Roos (Dutch), Rózsa (Hungarian), Raisa (Yiddish) |
Pronunciation: |
RŌ-zə [key] |
Possible Diminutives: |
Rose, Rosie, Roz, Ro |
Sibling Names: |
Clara Anna Eva Isabella Eloise Harriet |
Name Lists: |
Vintage Names Victorian Darlings Jane Austen Names Dickensian Names |
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Thanks to Louise for requesting this post.