The baby name Romilly sounds like a mashup of elegant Rose and sweet Millie, but there’s so much more to this rare, fascinating name.
Thanks to Jess for suggesting our Baby Name of the Day.
ON THE MAP
There are two likely sources for Romilly.
First up: geography.
France gives us Romilly-sur-Seine and Romilly-sur-Aigre. There’s even Romilly in Vale of Glamorgan, Wales. All the Romillys on record appear to be modest places, perhaps less likely to inspire a child’s name in the way that a better known place like Savannah or Cairo.
In some cases, Romilly might come from an Old English word meaning spacious, combined with that familiar -ly ending, for a woodland clearing.
ROMILIUS
Roman legends tells of twin brothers who quarreled about where to found a new city. Romulus won, and so gave his name to Rome.
Chances are that it’s fiction, but it’s a good story. The family name Romilius comes from the mythological founder. There’s a minor patrician family known as the gens Romilia.
But, as it happens, this all goes back to France again.
Because Romilly-sur-Seine is said to be named for the owner of a Gallo-Roman villa. His name? Romilius.
NORMAN INVASION
In any case, the surname Romilly arrived in England following the Norman invasion in 1066.
There’s Robert De Rumilly – or maybe Robert de Romille – born in Normandy, who came to England and held Skipton Castle in North Yorkshire, defending against Scottish invaders.
His eventual heir, Alice de Romilly, established Bolton Priory on the land after her son tragically drowned. A poem by William Wordsworth recounts the story, referring to “young Romilly.”
There’s another Romilly family of note. British politician and reformer Samuel Romilly was descended from French Huguenots who fled religious persecution for a new life in England. His son, John Romilly, followed in his father’s footsteps and became the 1st Baron Romilly in 1866.
Etienne’s grandson, Samuel Romilly, put their surname on the map. A legal reformer known for limiting capital punishment, he was also the father of seven children. His second-born son also entered politics and became Baron Romilly in 1866.
Many years later, Esmond Romilly married one of the famous Mitford socialite sisters. Clementine Churchill, wife of Winston, was their aunt.
So it’s quite aristocratic, with centuries of use behind it, at least as a surname.
FROM LAST to FIRST
Despite a long and storied past, as a baby name Romilly never quite caught on.
British artist Augustus John gave the name to a son. Born in 1906, Romilly John went on to serve in the Royal Air Force.
English journalist and television presenter Romilly Weeks has been a fixture in the UK since the mid-1990s.
But that’s not nearly enough to take the name into the mainstream.
And then, in 1999, actress Emma Thompson welcomed daughter Gaia Romilly.
A year earlier, future chef Romilly Newman was born in New York City. Her career started when she was just in her teens, with an appearance on Food Network Chopped‘s first junior version. She’s not a household name – yet – but it’s more proof that by the 90s, Romilly was on the most stylish parents’ radar.
BY the NUMBERS
The baby name Romilly caught on first in the UK. While it’s never been especially popular, it’s not unknown. For English parents, it’s a little bit like Saskia or Leonie.
In the US, it’s even less common. It first debuted in the data in the year 2013, with seven births.
As of 2023, it reached a new high. 15 girls received the baby name Romilly.
UNDISCOVERED GEM
All of this makes Romilly a contender for parents seeking an undiscovered gem.
It’s a successor to Kimberly and Mackenzie, an alternative to Rosalie and Elodie, and somehow not quite as out-there as Rhapsody.
With short forms Romy and Milly built right in, it’s easy to imagine rare Romilly wearing well.
I can never understand this popular names rubbish!! why people only seem to want to choose a popular nam is beyond me, why would everyone want their kids to have the same names as everyone else’s kids??? so you end up with a class full of kids with the same names!! I first heard this name from a book i read when i was twelve in the 70’s which was set in the Victorian era, the heronine was called Romilly, i had never heard of the name before. To me Romilly sounds, stong, individual, pretty and yes unusual and not really trying to be anything, I think it sounds quite old fashioned but pretty none the less, unlike names like madison (the whole using surnames as a first name thing) I really hope this name does not become common, so im kinda of glad that a lot of people dont like it!! All it would take is for someone really famous (model) maybe to have this name and then suddenly we will all like it…..how fickle we are.
I am wondering if Romalie is a spelling variant of Romilly, if it is pronounced the same, and if it has the same (or a different) meaning. I really like the name Romilly, but like the spelling Romalie better. Thanks!
My little Romilly Autumn is 10mths. We loved the name from the first time we hard it yrs ago when we were naming our first daughter (Waverly, 6) . We do not know any others and are complimented on it often. She goes by Romilly Autumn or Rommy, or Rom.
Lovely name, and I love Waverly and Romilly together!
This was my Grandfather’s christian name who was born in 1877 and was passed down to my late father, myself and my sister as additional christian names
“Back in 1984, no one was named ……… Allison, Isabella”
Really? What planet was that on?
Actually, Gemma, if you look at the punctuation it reads: “Back in 1984, no one was named Madison. Allison, Isabella, Jayden – they were all once obscure.”
Allison was in the Top 100 in the 1980s, but had been virtually unheard of forty years earlier. Isabella was out of vogue from the 50s through the 80s and wouldn’t begin climbing until the 90s. Jayden’s rise came much later.
We’re often dismissive of names when we first hear them, and it is very difficult to imagine which names will catch on, much less which ones will make it into the Top 100 or even Top Ten.
Ah Romilly, I love her almost as much as when I first posted back in 2008, thanks for re-running this post and making me think of her all over again!
I love Romilly, but I also love Romulus. I would use Millicent for Millie and Rosemary or Rosemarie for Ro before Romilly, but I’d love to meet a little one!
Millie is mostly used as a pet form of Amelia or Emily these days, rather than Millicent.
I love this name. I have a thing for 3-syllable first names ending in “ee” (can you tell?!) and Jessica Mitford has been one of my heroines since I was fifteen and read “Hons and Rebels” (inspired by JK Rowling, who has cited it as one of her most-inspirational books.) So I feel like, if I have children, this would be absolutely perfect for a daughter — it’s got the rhythm I like, and there’s the literary connection… sheer perfection.
Rosemary and Milly are old favorites and honestly I’d pick them long before Romilly. But it would be charming to meet a little Romilly.
On our shortlist for a little girl – love it! Such a pretty, fun, fresh sounding name with history and a great meaning.