Rotem
In Hebrew it names the desert broom, a shrub that takes root in dry, stony ground where little else grows. In Poland it stays rare, carried by fewer than 250 people and given to girls and boys alike.
Rotem Pronunciation
Rotem is pronounced RO-tem (/ˈrɔtɛm/).
What Rotem means
Where Rotem comes from and what it has meant to the people who carry it.
Rotem comes from Hebrew, where it names the desert broom, a hardy shrub that takes root in dry, stony ground where little else survives. The plant, called retama by botanists, has a place in the Hebrew Bible. When the prophet Elijah fled into the wilderness, he lay down under a broom tree, a rotem, and an angel woke him there (1 Kings 19). The meaning stays botanical.
In modern Israel Rotem is given to girls and boys alike. It follows a Hebrew habit of taking names straight from the land, from flowers and trees.
For a Polish family the sense arrives more quietly. The shrub is janowiec, a plant most people here would not name on sight. Picture it on a class register: Rotem, and beside the letters the desert broom.
How many people are named Rotem
1 in 140024 women in Poland is named Rotem. 247 people carry it in the 2025 register: rank #1961 among female names.
Rotem's popularity over time
Fewer than 2 girls were given the name in 2025. It has been stable for a decade.