Find out how popular the last name Rosa is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Rosa.

Rosa, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Rosa surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Rosa in America

Rosa is the 1035th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Rosa surname appeared 33,521 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 11 people would have the surname Rosa.

We can also compare 2010 data for Rosa to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name 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The name also appears in historical documents from other parts of Italy, such as a 1325 record from Genoa mentioning a Niccolò Rosa, a wealthy trader.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.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Rosa

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Rosa.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Rosa was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Rosa has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Rosa was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Rosa, please contact us.

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