2000
#1,132
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 28,375
First available Census row
Per 100,000 10.52
Uncommon Last name
Rosa
A surname of Latin origin meaning "rose," referring to a person who grew or sold roses or lived near a rose garden.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 39,116 Americans carry the last name Rosa. That puts it at #1,007 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 11.41 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 8,763 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Rosa surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Rosa with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
39K
1 in 8,763
Census rank
#1,007
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
11.4
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
34K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 34,111 bearers of the surname Rosa in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 11.41 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 1007th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Rosa, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 66.4%. The next largest groups are White (27.6%) and Black (3.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Rosa
The surname Rosa has its origins in Italy, where it first emerged in the medieval period. It is derived from the Italian word "rosa," meaning "rose," and may have initially been a descriptive name for someone who cultivated roses or lived near a rose garden.
In the early 13th century, records show individuals with the surname Rosa in the city of Florence. One of the earliest documented instances is a reference to a Guido Rosa, a merchant from Florence who lived around 1220.
The name also appears in historical documents from other parts of Italy, such as a 1325 record from Genoa mentioning a Niccolò Rosa, a wealthy trader. In Venice, a family called the Rosas held significant influence during the Renaissance, with members like Battista Rosa (1515-1594), a renowned architect and sculptor.
As the name spread across Italy, regional variations in spelling emerged, including Roso, Ruosa, and Roxa. In some areas, the name may have been influenced by place names containing the word "rosa," such as Rosa Camuna, a valley in the Alps.
Outside of Italy, the Rosa surname can be found in other European countries, likely due to migration and trade. In Spain, for example, there are records of a nobleman named Pedro de la Rosa (1516-1584) who served as a military leader during the reign of Philip II.
In the New World, the name was brought by Italian immigrants, and notable figures include Antonio Rosa (1786-1859), a Venezuelan military officer who fought in the Venezuelan War of Independence.
Other notable individuals with the Rosa surname throughout history include:
1. Salvator Rosa (1615-1673), an Italian Baroque painter, poet, and satirist from Naples.
2. Carl Rosa (1842-1889), a German-born British impresario and conductor who founded the Carl Rosa Opera Company.
3. Edward Rosa (1856-1926), an American lawyer and politician who served as the 32nd Mayor of Boston.
4. Giovanni Battista Rosa (1623-1653), an Italian architect and sculptor active in Rome during the Baroque period.
5. Juan Bautista de la Rosa (1670-1728), a Spanish painter known for his religious works in the Baroque style.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Rosa
Among Census respondents with the surname Rosa, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 66.4%. The next largest groups are White (27.6%) and Black (3.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Rosa bearers 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 surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Rosa surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino66.4% · 22,642
- White27.6% · 9,431
- Black or African American3.2% · 1,092
- Two or more races1.4% · 480
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.2% · 426
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 40
Timeline
Historical Census data for Rosa
Rosa appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#1,035
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 33,521
+5,146 bearers (+18.1%)
Per 100,000 11.36
Rank movement Up 97 places
2020
#1,007
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 34,111
+590 bearers (+1.8%)
Per 100,000 11.41
Rank movement Up 28 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #1,132 | 28,375 | 10.52 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #1,035 | 33,521 | 11.36 | +5,146 bearers (+18.1%) | Up 97 places |
| 2020 | #1,007 | 34,111 | 11.41 | +590 bearers (+1.8%) | Up 28 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Rosa surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #1,035 | #1,007 | 2.7% |
| Count | 33,521 | 34,111 | 1.8% |
| Per 100K | 11.36 | 11.41 | 0.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Rosa bearers went from 33,521 to 34,111 (+1.8% change). The surname moved up 28 positions in the national ranking, going from #1,035 to #1,007.
FAQ
Rosa surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Rosa?
Name Census estimates that about 39,116 living Americans carry the surname Rosa. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 8,763 residents.
How common is Rosa?
Rosa ranks #1,007 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 11.41 per 100,000 residents, which is about 11 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 34,111 people with the surname Rosa. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (39,116), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 11.41 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 11.41 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 11 of them to have the surname Rosa.
Has Rosa become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Rosa went from 33,521 recorded bearers to 34,111. That is an increase of 590 (+1.8%). In the national ranking it rose from #1,035 to #1,007.
What does the Census say about the background of Rosa?
Among Census respondents with the surname Rosa, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 66.4%. The next largest groups are White (27.6%) and Black (3.2%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
Hispanic is the largest self-reported group for the surname Rosa in the 2020 Census, accounting for 66.4% (22,642 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Rosa appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Hispanic (66.4%), White (27.6%), Black (3.2%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Rosa (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Rosa mean?
A surname of Latin origin meaning "rose," referring to a person who grew or sold roses or lived near a rose garden. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Rosa (11.41 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How common is the surname Rosa?
Find out how many people are called Rosa on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.