How popular is the baby name Roseanna in the United States right now? How popular was it historically? Use the popularity graph and data table below to find out! Plus, see all the blog posts that mention the name Roseanna.

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Popularity of the baby name Roseanna


Posts that mention the name Roseanna

What popularized the baby name Rosanna in 1982?

Toto single "Rosanna" (1982)
Toto single

According to the U.S. baby name data, the baby name Rosanna more than doubled in usage in 1982:

  • 1984: 367 baby girls named Rosanna [rank: 527th]
  • 1983: 488 baby girls named Rosanna [rank: 435th]
  • 1982: 492 baby girls named Rosanna [rank: 438th] (peak usage)
  • 1981: 194 baby girls named Rosanna [rank: 821st]
  • 1980: 202 baby girls named Rosanna [rank: 804th]

Here’s a visual:

Graph of the usage of the baby name Rosanna in the U.S. since 1880
Usage of the baby name Rosanna

Other spellings of the name (such as Roseanna, Rosana, Rozanna, Roseana, and the one-hit wonder Rosezanna) also saw higher usage that year.

What’s the reason?

The Grammy-winning song “Rosanna” by Los Angeles-based rock band Toto.

It was released in March of 1982 as the first single from the album Toto IV, which also featured the band’s biggest hit, “Africa.”

“Rosanna” peaked at #2 on Billboard‘s Hot 100 chart for five consecutive weeks during July. (The final two weeks, it was second to Survivor’s “Eye of the Tiger.”)

Here’s the music video:

(Fun fact: The woman who played Rosanna in the video, Cynthia Rhodes, went on to play Penny in Dirty Dancing five years later.)

So what’s the story behind the song?

Toto’s David Paich said that he wrote it “about a high school love, one of my first loves.” Around the time he was writing it, another band member, Steve Porcaro, started dating actress Rosanna Arquette. Rosanna’s name happened to “fit perfectly” in the song Paich was writing, so he decided to use it.

So it’s got her name on it, but it’s really about another high school sweetheart, which is how songs happen sometimes.

What are your thoughts on the baby name Rosanna? (How would you spell it?)

Sources: Roseanna (song) – Wikipedia, David Paich of Toto: Songwriter Interviews – Songfacts, SSA

What gave the baby name Roseanna a boost in 1950?

The character Roseanna from the movie "Roseanna McCoy" (1949)
Roseanna from “Roseanna McCoy

According to the U.S. baby name data, the name Roseanna saw its highest-ever usage in 1950:

  • 1952: 126 baby girls name Roseanna [rank: 810th]
  • 1951: 141 baby girls name Roseanna [rank: 740th]
  • 1950: 275 baby girls name Roseanna [rank: 487th]
  • 1949: 129 baby girls name Roseanna [rank: 762nd]
  • 1948: 42 baby girls name Roseanna
  • 1947: 38 baby girls name Roseanna

Why?

Because of the movie Roseanna McCoy, which was released in the summer of 1949.

Set in the late 1800s, the film was a semi-fictionalized account of the romance between Johnson “Johnse” Hatfield and Roseanna McCoy. Their relationship reignited the long-standing feud between their respective families: the Hatfields of West Virginia and the McCoys of Kentucky.

The character of Roseanna was played by teenage actress Joan Evans (who was born in 1934 to a pair of Hollywood writers and named in honor of her godmother, Joan Crawford).

The movie was based on the 1947 book of the same name by Alberta Hannum.

What are your thoughts on the name Roseanna? (Do you like this spelling, or do you prefer Rosanna?)

Sources: Roseanna McCoy – Rotten Tomatoes, Roseanna McCoy – Wikipedia, Joan Evans (actress) – Wikipedia, SSA

How do you feel about your name, Roseanna?

Today’s interview is with Roseanna, a 26-year-old from Grand Rapids, Michigan.

What’s the story behind her name?

In the 80’s, singer Chris de Burgh wrote a song for his daughter called “For Rosanna”. When my mom heard the song, she instantly loved the name. She chose my spelling, Roseanna, because she figured it was the most intuitive. Rose-anna.

The name Rosanna (and all sound-alike names) had become trendy in the early ’80s thanks to Toto’s 1982 song “Rosanna.” Perhaps this trendiness is what inspired Chris de Burgh to name his daughter Rosanna in 1984. His song “For Rosanna” was released on the same 1986 album as mega-hit “The Lady in Red.” (The specific spelling Roseanna, though, was most popular back in 1950 thanks to the 1949 movie Roseanna McCoy.)

What does she like most about her name?

I love that it is uncommon. I have only met a few others with my name. I like the nickname options too, though I don’t use them often. When I was younger, I was called Rosie, which I quite like these days. My family calls me Zana, which I really love.

What does she like least about her name?

I am constantly called Roseanne. And despite my moms best intentions, people usually spell it without the E, Rosanna.

Finally, would Roseanna recommend that her name be given to babies today?

Perhaps? In some ways, Roseanna seems kind of dated. I have yet to meet anyone my age, or younger, with this name; most I’ve met are a couple decades older. That said, both Rose and Anna are well loved these days.

-anna/ana names are all over the charts: Arianna, Brianna, Gianna, Adriana, Joanna, Hanna, Leanna, Liliana, Eliana, etc

Then there are names like Annabelle, Annalise, Annalee, Rosemary, Rosalie, and Roselyn that are all in the top 1000. I think Roseanna could fit in nicely. It is certainly usable and might be considered somewhat unexpected.

Thank you, Roseanna!