Čeprav Rosa kot tudi Rose pomeni "roza" v italijanščini in francoščini oziroma, ime je napačno sorodni izhaja iz narečju besedo francosko-provansalski Valdôtain rouése pomeni "ledenik".<ref>[4http://www.lovevda.it/turismo/scopri/grandi_montagne/monte_rosa_e.asp Monte Rosa on the official website of the Aosta Valley.] Retrieved on 11.09.2009</ref> Na starih zemljevidih šele leta 1740, je bila gora z imenom Monte Bosa in celo Monte Biosa, ki so jih prebivalci Val Sesia. Ime po Boso, ki se pojavi v zvezke Leonardo da Vinci je zelo verjetno imenovala isto goro.<ref>Nicholas [5]Shoumatoff, Nina Shoumatoff: ''The Alps: Europe's Mountain Heart'' (page 192). University of Michigan Press 2001, ISBN 0-472-11111-6</ref> Iz Zermatta je gora prej znana pod imenom Gornerhorn (v Walliser nemščini, sveti Large / strong rog). [6] [nezanesljiv vir?] Ime Görner se še vedno uporablja za zahodnemzahodni grebenugreben, ki se vrže venoddvoji iz glavne mase (Gornergrat) in ledenik, ki leži ob vznožju (Gornergletscher), vendar se ne uporablja več za goro sam večsamo. Danes, v nemški, italijanski Monte Rosa, ki je namesto tega uporablja (Monte Rosa-Gletscher, Monte Rosa-Hütte, itd
Though Rosa as well as Rose mean "pink" in Italian and French respectively, the name is a false cognate derived from the Franco-Provençal Valdôtain patois word rouése meaning "glacier".[4] On old maps as late as 1740, the mountain was named Monte Bosa and even Monte Biosa by the inhabitants of Val Sesia. The name Mon Boso which appears in Leonardo da Vinci's notebooks very likely designated the same mountain.[5] From Zermatt the mountain was formerly known under the name Gornerhorn (in Walliser German, lit. Large/Strong Horn).[6][unreliable source?] The name gorner is still used for the western ridge that is thrown out from the main mass (Gornergrat) and the glacier that lies at its foot (Gornergletscher) but not used for the mountain itself anymore. Nowadays, in German, the Italian Monte Rosa is used instead (Monte Rosa-Gletscher, Monte Rosa-Hütte, etc.).
