About Rosemarie
Rosemarie brings Rose and Marie together in a form closely related to Rosemary. It also carries the herb name’s association with Latin “dew of the sea,” although that is a different route from combining two personal names. Artist Rosemarie Trockel and actor Rosemarie DeWitt give it distinctive modern cultural connections.
Meaning and origin
Rosemary developed as a combination of Rose and Mary and can also refer to the herb. The plant’s name comes from Latin ros marinus, “dew of the sea.” Rosemarie is a related spelling established in English, German, and Dutch.
The personal-name route has its own history. Rose has long been associated with the flower, while also preserving an older Germanic name background. Mary, represented here by Marie, has a deeper origin that remains uncertain.
These overlapping routes explain why Rosemarie cannot be reduced to one translation that covers every use. Its botanical association and its combination of two familiar names both belong to its history.
Pronunciation and short forms
English Rosemarie can sound like ROHZ-muh-ree or ROHZ-mair-ee, with three syllables. German commonly gives it four syllables, approximately ROH-zuh-mah-ree.
Romy and Romey are established short forms. They draw from the combined name rather than requiring Rosemarie to be divided into separate everyday names.
Rosemarie Trockel
German artist Rosemarie Trockel is known for work that questions distinctions between fine art and craft. Her “knitting pictures” use a material associated with domestic and traditionally feminine work within the format of a painting.
In Untitled, from 1987, machine-knitted wool is stretched over a frame. A repeated commercial phrase is knitted into the surface, bringing manufacturing and the market into the work as well.
The material and presentation challenge assumptions about which techniques belong in a gallery. Trockel gives Rosemarie a clear association with contemporary visual art and its debates about materials, labor, and value.
Rosemarie DeWitt
Rosemarie DeWitt plays Rachel in Jonathan Demme’s Rachel Getting Married, released in 2008. Rachel’s wedding brings her sister Kym, played by Anne Hathaway, back into the family home.
The gathering combines celebration with unresolved conflict and grief. DeWitt’s title role places the name within a family drama whose tensions emerge during an apparently joyful occasion.
Popularity in the United States
Rosemarie’s largest annual count and best rank both came in 1936, with 1,300 girls at No. 158. It ranked No. 261 with 847 girls in 1950.
The name became less common later in the century, with 246 girls in 1980 and 137 in 2000. In 2025, 115 girls received Rosemarie, placing it at No. 1,767. Rosemary is counted separately.
Sources & methodologyReferences, data & attribution
Meaning and history draw on the references below. Popularity figures use the local Social Security Administration series for this exact spelling and sex; counts below five are omitted. Existing Wiktionary material is available under CC BY-SA. Suggested shortenings are identified in the prose.
- Wiktionary: Rosemarie (English)
- Wiktionary: Rosemarie (German)
- Social Security Administration: national name data
- Wikidata: Rosemarie DeWitt
- Wikidata: Rosemarie Ackermann
- Wikidata: Rosemarie Trockel
- Wikidata: Rosemarie Whyte
- Wikidata: Rosemarie Frankland
- Museum of Modern Art: Rosemarie Trockel
- Sony Pictures: Rachel Getting Married
Wiktionary material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
How popular is Rosemarie?
In 2025, Rosemarie ranked #1,767 among girls in the United States, with 115 recorded uses. The U.S. birth records first list this spelling for girls in 1896; its largest annual count was 1,300 in 1936. Rankings count each spelling separately. They describe national use, so local familiarity can differ. The popularity chart shows whether the name has remained common, returned after a quieter period, or risen recently.