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Summary
- No one named Rose appears in the Bible. Rhoda, the servant girl who answered Peter’s knock (Acts 12:13–16), has a name made from Greek rhodon, “rose.”
- The “rose of Sharon” (Song of Songs 2:1) translates a Hebrew word that probably meant a crocus or meadow saffron; the Vulgate calls it “the flower of the field.”
- The Greek word for rose appears in Sirach and the Wisdom of Solomon, books included in Catholic and Orthodox Bibles.
- The name Rose began as a Norman form of the Germanic Hrodohaidis, “famous type,” and was soon linked with the flower.
- Rose of Lima, canonized in 1671, was the first saint from the Americas; Rose Philippine Duchesne, canonized in 1988, opened the first free school for girls west of the Mississippi.
Bibliography (Click to show)
- Behind the Name, “Rose,” “Rhoda,” “Susanna” and “Vered,” with United States popularity figures from Social Security Administration data. https://www.behindthename.com/name/rose
- Online Etymology Dictionary, “rose” and “rosary.” https://www.etymonline.com/word/rose
- Strong’s Hebrew 2261, ḥăḇaṣṣeleṯ, with the Brown-Driver-Briggs entry, Bible Hub. https://biblehub.com/hebrew/2261.htm
- “Rose of Sharon” and “Sharon plain,” Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rose_of_Sharon
- Douay-Rheims Bible with Challoner’s notes, Canticle of Canticles 2:1 and Isaias 35:1, and the Latin Vulgate, Canticle 2:1. https://www.drbo.org/chapter/24002.htm
- Septuagint (Rahlfs), CCAT morphological text of Canticles, Wisdom and Sirach, University of Pennsylvania. http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/gopher/text/religion/biblical/lxxmorph/
- Hymnary.org, “Jesus, Rose of Sharon,” text by Ida A. Guirey (1922). https://hymnary.org/text/jesus_rose_of_sharon_bloom_within_my
- Edward Aymé, “St. Rose of Lima,” The Catholic Encyclopedia, vol. 13 (1912). https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/13192c.htm
- “Rose of Lima,” Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rose_of_Lima
- Franciscan Media, Saint of the Day: “Saint Rose of Lima” and “Saint Rose Philippine Duchesne.” https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-of-the-day/saint-rose-philippine-duchesne/
- Holy See, Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Litany of Loreto). https://www.vatican.va/special/rosary/documents/litanie-lauretane_en.html
- Scripture quotations: Acts 12:12–15, English Standard Version; Song of Songs 2:1 and Isaiah 35:1, King James Version (ESV, NIV and NASB compared); Sirach 24:14; 39:13 and Wisdom 2:8, Revised Standard Version, Catholic Edition.
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