Rosamund

German
"horse protection"

Rosamund Origin and Meaning

The name Rosamund is a girl's name of German origin meaning "horse protection".

This lovely, quintessentially British appellation, also spelled Rosamond, is the name of a legendary twelfth-century beauty. Rare on these shores, it is more than worthy of importation.

There was a time when Rosamund wasn't quite so unusual in the US--she ranked on the Top 1000 from 1881 to 1930, reaching 574 in 1912. Today, fewer than 20 baby girls were given the name in the US, and fewer than five got the alternate version Rosamond.

Early on, the name was associated with 'fair Rosamond' Clifford, mistress of Henry II, whose story was the basis of the Joseph Addison opera Rosamund and the Swinburne play of the same name.

Another, literal, translation of the name"s meaning is 'rose of the world.'

A current bearer is actress and one-time Bond girl Rosamund Pike--who has a son named Solo.

# 915 on Nameberry

Rosamund Rank in Nameberry Top 1000

Rosamund Popularity

Famous People Named Rosamund

  • Rosamund Clifford
    mistress of King Henry II of England, known as "Fair Rosamund" or "Rosa Mundi" ("The Rose of the World")
  • Rosamund Mary Ellen Pike
    English actress
  • Rosamund Kwan (Chi
    lam) (born Kwan Kar,wai), Hong Kong actress
  • Rosamund Marriott Watson
    English poet
  • Rosamund Mary Greenwood
    English actress
  • Rosamund John (born Nora Rosamund Jones)
    English actress
  • Rosamund Lupton
    English novelist
  • Rosamund Stanhope
    English poet
  • Rosamund Abigail Hanson
    English actress

Rosamund in Pop Culture

  • Lady Rosamund Painswick
    character on Downton Abbey
  • Rosamund Musgrove
    character in Eudora Welty's 1942 novella The Robber Bridegroom
  • Rosamund Larne
    daughter,in,law to Silvanus Heythorp in Galsworthy's A Stoic (1918)
  • Rosamund Felsen Gallery
    art gallery in Santa Monica, California
  • Rosamund
    Sleeping Beauty's real name in some versions of the fairy tale
  • Rosamund “Rosie” Mary Watson
    daughter of Dr. John Hamish Watson and Mary Elizabeth Morstan,Watson in BBC's Sherlock