The name Rosa has its origins in the Latin language, deriving from the Latin word "rosa" which means "rose." This floral association has made the name popular across various cultures and time periods.

Rosa is believed to have been used as a feminine name since ancient Roman times, when the rose held great symbolic significance. It was often associated with beauty, love, and the goddess Venus. The earliest recorded instances of Rosa as a given name can be traced back to the 3rd century AD in Roman inscriptions.

In the Middle Ages, the name Rosa gained popularity in Catholic regions, particularly in Italy and Spain. It was often bestowed upon girls as a nod to the Virgin Mary, who was referred to as the "Rosa Mystica" (Mystic Rose) in medieval religious texts.

One of the earliest notable bearers of the name was Rosa of Viterbo, an Italian mystic and saint who lived from 1234 to 1252. She is revered for her piety and alleged ability to levitate during prayer.

In the Renaissance period, the name Rosa became more widespread across Europe. Rosa Bonheur, a French artist renowned for her realistic depictions of animals, was born in 1822 and lived until 1899.

The 19th century saw the rise of several notable women named Rosa. Rosa Luxemburg, a influential Marxist theorist and revolutionary, was born in Poland in 1871 and played a pivotal role in the German communist movement until her assassination in 1919.

Another notable figure was Rosa Parks, the African American civil rights activist, born in 1913. Her act of defiance on a Montgomery, Alabama bus in 1955 sparked the Montgomery Bus Boycott and became a pivotal moment in the Civil Rights Movement in the United States.

In the world of literature, Rosa Luxemburg's contemporary, Rosa Levine-Meyer, better known by her pen name Rosa Luxemburg, was a German-Jewish writer and activist who lived from 1871 to 1935.

The name Rosa has also been popular in Latin American cultures, with notable bearers including Rosa Montero, a Spanish novelist and journalist born in 1951, and Rosa Guerrero, a Mexican actress and singer who lived from 1890 to 1970.