Meaning: Its source is ros marinus, a Latin name meaning "Mist of the sea."

This name is sometimes spelled RoseMary or Rose Mary.

Languages: This girl's name is used in English.

Nicknames: Rosie and Romy

Variant Forms: Rosemari and Rosemarie

Popularity: The name Rosemary ranked 652nd in popularity for females of all ages in a sample of 2000-2003 Social Security Administration statistics and 204th in popularity for females of all ages in a sample of the 1990 US Census.

This name is highly rated in the 1990 U.S. Census popularity survey of all ages, but after 1960 does not appear in the state data listing the most popular baby names.

Narrative: This is the name of an aromatic herb, familiar to cooks and garderners. However, the names that appear to make up its two parts, Rose and Mary, are not as easily traced back to their origins.

The name Rose is generally associated not with ros, meaning ''mist,'' but with another Latin word, rosa, referring to the familiar flower. In addition, there are authorities who derive the name from one of two Old English terms, either hrod, meaning ''fame,'' or hros, meaning ''horse.''

Similarly, Mary is most often derived from the Hebrew name Miryam, meaning ''wished-for child.'' However, St. Jerome, among others, associated it with the Latin phrase stella maris, meaning ''star of the sea.''