This page is historical. Follow this link for the current version.
Dictionary of Medieval Names
from European Sources
☙

Rosamund f. Old Saxon hros 'horse' + Old English mund 'protector', Old Saxon mund, Old High German munt 'hand, protection'.

The name of a 6th C Lombard queen and a 12th C mistress of Henry II.

Henry II's mistress was sometimes known as the 'rose of the world', reinterpreting the etymology of the name as Latin rosa 'rose' + Latin mundi 'of the world'.

The English vernacular form Rosamund is witnessed in 1321 in the matronymic byname Rosamund (EL-2 p. 121).

England
Early Modern English
● 1586 Rosamond Bar-in-El p. 34; 1588 Rosamonde ibid. p. 26
Cite as: S.L. Uckelman. "Rosamund". In S.L. Uckelman, ed. The Dictionary of Medieval Names from European Sources, Edition 2018, no. 1. http://dmnes.org/2018/1/name/Rosamund.