A Spanish, Italian and Portuguese surname, Rosa comes from the Latin term ‘rosa’ which refers to the flower, rose, including people who live near wild roses. The spelling variations for Rosa include Rosales, de Rosales, de Ros, Ros, de la Rosa, Rosano, DeRosa, Roso, Rosana, Rosas and Rosal. From the Castille region of Spain many Rosa families moved in the 18th and 19th centuries to Cuba, Panama, Mexico, Argentina, Uruguay and Brazil. In England there are scatterings of Rosa families. Most reside in the city of London, Essex, Kent, Berkshire, Surrey, Sussex, Somerset, Devon, Warwickshire and Yorkshire. In Scotland the counties with the great number of Rosa families are Midlothian, Lanarkshire, Renfrewshire, Peeblesshire and Aberdeenshire. Within the United States the Rosa surname is found chiefly in New York, Ohio, Michigan, Texas, California, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Florida and Illinois. Famous: Salvator Rosa (17th century landscape artist from Italy), Don Rosa (comic book writer and illustrator), Hermann Rosa (sculptor and architect from Germany), Paulo “Viola” Rosa (footballer from Brazil), Francesco Rosa (17th century artist from Genoa, Italy) and Joao G. Rosa (novelist from Brazil).