Rosebud
A delicate floral name referring to the budding rose.
Name Census estimates that about 65 living Americans carry the first name Rosebud. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Rosebud today is around 83 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Rosebud births was 1921 (39 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Rosebud. 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
- • The typical person named Rosebud is about 83 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Rosebuds were born before 1953.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Rosebud. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
65
~ 1 in 5,273,144 Americans
Peak year
1921
39 babies that year
Average age
83
years old
1973 SSA rank
#9,443
Tracked since 1888
Census
Rosebud in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 244 people with the first name Rosebud, which placed it at #33,765 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
#33,765
National first-name rank
People counted
244
244 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
45.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Rosebud
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Rosebud is Black at 45.5%. The next largest groups are White (35.2%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (7.8%). 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 Rosebud 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 Rosebud at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American45.5% · 111
- White35.2% · 86
- American Indian and Alaska Native7.8% · 19
- Hispanic or Latino5.3% · 13
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.3% · 8
- Two or more races2.9% · 7
Popularity
Rosebud: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Rosebud from the 1880s through to the 1970s, spanning 9 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 266 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
Rosebud 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 Rosebud during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Rosebuds live
The SSA's state-level files cover 7 states and territories. Alabama, Georgia, Virginia recorded the most babies named Rosebud, while Illinois, South Carolina, North Carolina recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 9 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Rosebud
The name Rosebud is believed to have originated in the English language, where it was likely derived from the combination of the word "rose," referring to the beautiful and fragrant flower, and "bud," which refers to a plant's undeveloped flower. This name's origins can be traced back to the late 16th or early 17th century, during the height of the English Renaissance period.
Rosebud is a descriptive name that evokes images of delicate beauty, purity, and the promise of growth and blooming. It is a poetic and romantic name that has been used in various literary works and artistic expressions throughout history. In Shakespeare's famous play "Hamlet," the character Ophelia mentions "rosebud" as a symbol of her innocent and fragile state.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Rosebud can be found in the 1609 baptismal records of St. Mary's Church in Bury St. Edmunds, England, where a child named Rosebud was christened. However, it was not until the 19th century that the name gained more widespread popularity, particularly in the United States and other English-speaking countries.
Notable individuals who have borne the name Rosebud throughout history include Rosebud Yellow Robe (1907-1992), a renowned Lakota Sioux artist and educator who played a significant role in preserving and promoting Native American culture. Another remarkable figure was Rosebud Abigail Sommers (1875-1923), an American author and activist who advocated for women's rights and social justice.
In the realm of literature, Rosebud Pettigrew was the pen name of American author and poet Marguerite Janvrin (1857-1916), known for her works that explored themes of love, nature, and spirituality. Additionally, Rosebud Yellowhead (1905-1981) was a respected elder and storyteller from the Peigan First Nation in Canada, who dedicated her life to preserving and sharing her people's traditions and oral histories.
Lastly, Rosebud Sioux (1844-1930), also known as Sung Hay-Nah-Pay-Tah, was a prominent figure in the history of the Sioux Nation, serving as a respected leader and diplomat during a time of great change and conflict for her people.
These are just a few examples of individuals who have carried the name Rosebud throughout history, each leaving a lasting impact in their respective fields and communities.
People
Rosebud + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Rosebud 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
Rosebud: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Rosebud?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 65 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Rosebud 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 5,273,144 US residents.
Is Rosebud a common name?
We classify Rosebud as "Very Rare". It ranks above 58.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 738 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Rosebud most popular?
The single biggest year for Rosebud was 1921, when 39 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Rosebud is about 83 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Rosebud in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 244 people with the name Rosebud, or 0.08 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #33,765 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 Rosebud 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 Rosebud?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Rosebud leans strongly female. 240 people counted with this name were female (96.8%), compared with 8 male bearers (3.2%). 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 Rosebud?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Rosebud is Black at 45.5%. The next largest groups are White (35.2%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (7.8%). 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 Rosebud most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Rosebud in the 2020 Census, accounting for 45.5% (111 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 Rosebud in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Rosebud a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Rosebud 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 Rosebud still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Rosebud 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 Rosebud 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 Americans are named Rosebud?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.