Rosemae
A feminine name of English origin meaning "rose" and "pearl".
Name Census estimates that about 18 living Americans carry the first name Rosemae. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Rosemae today is around 32 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Rosemae births was 1925 (12 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Rosemae. 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
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Rosemae. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
18
~ 1 in 19,041,908 Americans
Peak year
1925
12 babies that year
Average age
32
years old
2020 SSA rank
#11,926
Tracked since 1915
Popularity
Rosemae: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Rosemae from the 1910s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 53 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
Rosemae 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 Rosemae during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Rosemae
The given name Rosemae is a combination of two distinct names, Rose and Mae. The name Rose is derived from the Middle English and Old French word "rose," which in turn comes from the Latin word "rosa." The Latin word is believed to have originated from the ancient Greek word "rhodon," meaning a rose or the rose plant.
The name Mae is a variant of the name May, which is derived from the Latin name "Maia." Maia was an ancient Roman goddess of fertility and growth, associated with the month of May. The name Mae gained popularity in the late 19th century as a simplified spelling of May.
While the individual components of Rosemae have historical roots, the combined form of the name is relatively modern. There are no significant historical references or ancient texts specifically mentioning the name Rosemae.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Rosemae was in the late 19th century. Rosemae Towne was an American educator and suffragist born in 1863 in Massachusetts. She actively advocated for women's rights and was involved in various social reform movements.
Another notable bearer of the name was Rosemae Krupski (1919-2018), an American artist and educator known for her abstract expressionist paintings. She studied at the Arts Students League in New York City and had several solo exhibitions throughout her career.
In the early 20th century, Rosemae Kessel (1901-1984) was an American actress who appeared in numerous Broadway productions and films. She was particularly known for her roles in plays by Eugene O'Neill and George Bernard Shaw.
Rosemae Ashcroft (1907-1985) was a British actress and singer who performed in various musical theater productions in London's West End during the 1930s and 1940s.
Rosemae Higgins (1920-2017) was an American artist and educator known for her abstract paintings and collages. She taught at the Memphis College of Art for over 30 years and had her works exhibited in numerous galleries and museums across the United States.
While the name Rosemae has been used throughout history, it has remained a relatively uncommon name compared to its individual components, Rose and Mae. The combination of the two names reflects a modern trend of creating unique and distinctive names by blending traditional elements.
People
Rosemae + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Rosemae 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
Rosemae: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Rosemae?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 18 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Rosemae 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 19,041,908 US residents.
Is Rosemae a common name?
We classify Rosemae as "Very Rare". It ranks above 38.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 114 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Rosemae most popular?
The single biggest year for Rosemae was 1925, when 12 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Rosemae is about 32 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
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 Rosemae in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Rosemae a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Rosemae 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 Rosemae still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Rosemae 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 Rosemae 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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people are named Rosemae?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.