The baby name Cosima combines pan-European appeal with a powerful meaning.
Thanks to Alexandra for suggesting our Baby Name of the Day.
WHAT DOES THE BABY NAME COSIMA MEAN?
The baby name Cosima might bring to mind Italy.
After all, Cosimo de’ Medici was among the most famous Renaissance leaders. He founded a powerful dynasty, with plenty of appealing names. While Cosima is the obvious feminine form, it’s not recorded as a Medici name.
Cosimo comes from the Greek kosmos – order.
Saint Cosmas was martyred in the fourth century, which helps explain the name’s continued use. Along with his twin brother, Damian, Cosmas trained as a doctor. They treated patients withuot requesting payment.
Over time, cosmos came to refer to the well-ordered universe. To be cosmopolitan is to be a citizen of the world. It suggests sophistication, elegance, and maybe a hint of glamour, too.
FAMOUS WOMEN NAMED COSIMA
A few nineteenth and twentieth century women by the name include:
- Cosima Liszt, daughter of composer Franz Liszt. She married another composer, Richard Wagner. Wagner founded the Bayreuth Festival in Germany to showcase his works. (It’s still going strong.) Cosima survived Richard by two decades, devoting herself to promoting his legacy.
- The 1926 winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature was Italian writer Grazia Deledda. In 1937, she published a novel called Cosima.
- Cosima von Bülow Pavoncelli is the daughter of Sunny and Claus – as in the fabulously wealthy couple who made headlines when he was accused of her attempted murder in 1982. Cosima grew up to marry an Italian count and seems to have lived happily ever after. Her parents’ tragic tale inspired a 1985 bestseller and a 1990 film, Reversal of Fortune.
Nigella Lawson is known as a British heiress-socialite-turned-journalist-turned-chef. Her cookbooks and television shows have been tremendously popular, in the UK and beyond. Nigella was named for her dad, Nigel. She and late husband John Diamond married in Venice, and gave their children names inspired by Italy: Cosima and Bruno.
While Cosima generally keeps a low profile, her mom’s career means that her name – and sometimes image – are mentioned from time to time.
LISZTOMANIA AND THE GREAT COSIMA COINCIDENCE
The Great Cosima Coincidence happened in the year 2010. Not one, but three, high-profile parents announced their daughters’ names. All of them: Cosima.
- First came German supermodel Claudia Schiffer. She and director Matthew Vaughn welcomed daughter Cosima, a sister for Caspar and Clementine.
- Around the same time, director Sofia Coppola and musician Thomas Mars named their daughter Cosima, a little sister for Romy.
- To make it a trifecta, Lady Cosima Rose Alexandra Windsor was born in May of 2010. The daughter of Alexander and Claire Windsor, the Earl and Countess of Ulster, she’s 35th in line to the throne as of early 2025. Her older brother, Xan Richard Anders, is one spot ahead.
Looking for a possible influence behind the three uses of a relatively rare name?
Thomas Mars is the frontman of alt rock band Phoenix. They recorded “Lisztomania” in 2009, and the video shows the band visiting the Franz Liszt Museum. Mars has spoken of his regard for the composer. Could Cosima have been inspired by Liszt’s daughter, the wife of composer Richard Wagner? She had such a lasting influence on music, it feels perfectly right.
HOW DO YOU PRONOUNCE COSIMA?
One stumbling block to using this name: how is it pronounced?
In English, emphasis is sometimes on the first syllable: KOH se muh.
Italian and other European languages stress the middle syllable: koh SEE muh.
But it varies, at least a little, from language to language and even place to place.
NICKNAMES FOR COSIMA
Cosima comes with a handful of built-in nickname options:
- Coco, from the first syllable
- Cosi, which is a little less familiar, but perfectly wearable
- Mimi, used by Nigella Lawson’s daughter
HOW POPULAR IS THE NAME COSIMA?
The baby name Cosima is quite rare. As of 2023, twelve girls born in the US were named Cosima.
It sounds a little like something reserved for the British upper classes. (Think Prince Harry’s ex-girlfriend Cressida Bonas.) But I’m not sure it’s seen that way in England, despite the young Windsor cousin that’s part of the Cosima Coincidence.
Still, Cosima feels upscale, international, polished. It’s slightly unconventional and very unexpected.
If you’re after a rare name for a daughter that feels feminine and interesting, Cosima is a true undiscovered gem.
What do you think of the baby name Cosima?
First published on February 26, 2014, this post was revised on February 27, 2025.
I just heard this name for the first time today and after rolling it around in my head for an hour, I love it! Unique, phonetically spelled, good meaning, international, and the nickname Cosi (like cozy) is so adorable.
This name has popped onto my radar lately, and I quite like it. But as you mentioned, I go back and forth on which syllable to put the emphasis. I say either KO-seema, or ko-SEE-ma. Both Coco and Mimi are darling nicknames for it.
Actually, in the Italian, both Cosima and Cosimo are pronounced with an emphasis on the first syllable, just as Americans are likely to pronounce it: KOH-se-muh.
There IS a difference between the Italian and likely-U.S. pronunciations, but it has to do with the “z” or “s” sound: Americans will most likely say Cosima/o with an “s” sound in the middle of the name, while Italians would pronounce it with more of a z sound (in Italian, one “s” alone makes a “z” sound while two “ss” together make an “s” sound). In the end I believe the difference in pronunciation is a slight one.
Thanks, Rachel!
Cosima is one of those name I think is gorgeous written down. Rich, powerful, feminine, and unusual it should be high on my lists. But I’m not sure if I care for how it sounds out-loud, so I’m hoping to run into someone with this name so my brain can adjust to it.
Oh, how I adore beautiful Cosima with either pronunciation really. My husband, unfortunately, isn’t a fan, so maybe it will go to the middle name spot.
I don’t think Cosima needs a nickname, but I would favor Cosi or Ozzy/Ossie over Coco and Mimi.