Submitted names are contributed by users of this website. The accuracy of these name definitions cannot be guaranteed.
Rochelle French, Englishhabitational name from
La Rochelle the name of several places in various parts of France especially that in Manche from a diminutive of Old French
roche "rock cliff promontory"... [
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Rocher FrenchFrom French
roche, meaning "rock'. It indicates a person who worked at a quarry.
Rochester EnglishMeans "person from Rochester", Kent (probably "Roman town or fort called Rovi"). A fictional bearer of the surname is Mr Rochester, the Byronic hero of Charlotte Brontë's 'Jane Eyre' (1847).
Rochussen DutchMeans "son of
Rochus". Famous bearers of this name are the Dutch prime minister Jan Jacob Rochussen (1797-1871) and the 19th-century painter Charles Rochussen (1814-1894).
Rock EnglishTopographic name for someone who lived near a notable crag or outcrop, from Middle English
rokke "rock" (see
Roach), or a habitational name from a place named with this word, as for example Rock in Northumberland.
Rockefeller GermanMeans "from Rockenfeld." Some famous bearers include founder of the Standard Oil Company and philanthropist John Davison Rockefeller (1839-1937), and 41st Vice President of the U.S.A. Nelson Aldrich Rockefeller (1908-1979).
Rockett FrenchFrom the French "la roche," or "of the rock." Some family histories trace this back to French Hugenots (sp) who immigrated to England in the 1500's from the Normandy region of France.
Rockford EnglishAn altered spelling of English Rochford; alternatively it may be an Americanized form of French Rochefort or Italian Roccaforte.
Rockhold German (Americanized)Possibly an Americanized form of German
Rocholl or
Rochholt, derived from a Germanic personal name composed of Old Germanic
ruoche "care, prudence" and
wald "rule, power".
Rockman GermanPossibly a habitational name for someone from Rockau in Thuringia.
Rockwell EnglishMeans "person from Rockwell", Buckinghamshire and Somerset (respectively "wood frequented by rooks" and "well frequented by rooks"). Famous bearers include American illustrator Norman Rockwell (1894-1978) and Utah pioneer Porter Rockwell (1813-1878).
Rodd EnglishLocational name for someone "at the rod" of land, from Middle English
rodde. Also could come from the given name
Rod, or the parish of Rodd in Herefordshire, England.
Rodela GalicianPossibly habitational name from a place called
Rodel (in A Coruña province, Galicia), derived from a diminutive of
roda "wheel".
Rodham EnglishFrom Roddam in Northumberland. The name is thought to have derived from Germanic
*rodum, meaning 'forest clearing'.
Rodia ItalianHabitational name from Rodia, a locality in Messina, Sicily.
Rodin JewishMetronymic from the Yiddish personal name Rode, and related to the Old Czech root
rád "merry", "joyful".
Rodino ItalianPossibly from the medieval Latin name Rodinus, or Germanic Hrodhari, from
hroþi "fame, glory" and
Hari "battle".
Rodman EnglishThe surname Rodman is an ancient English surname, derived from a trade name, "men who were by the tenure or customs of their lands to ride with or for the lord of the manor about his business". The most famous bearer of this name is the basketball player Dennis Rodman.
Rodwell EnglishRodwell, a name of Anglo-Saxon origin, is a locational surname deriving from any one of various places in Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire, and Kent, England. In English, the meaning of the name Rodwell is "Lives by the spring near the road".
Roe EnglishNickname for a timid person, derived from the Middle English
ro meaning "roe"; also a midland and southern form of
Ray.
Roe NorwegianHabitational surname for any of the several farmsteads named
Roe or
Røe, derived from the Old Norse
ruð meaning "clearing".
Roe IrishDerived from/Anglicised form of 'Ruagh', an Irish word meaning redhead, or red haired
Roeber Low GermanHabitational name from a place named Roben, for example in Thuringia or Schleswig. From a Germanic personal name based on
hrod ‘renown’, ‘victory’. Low German variant of
Räuber and
Rauber.
Roest DutchHabitational name derived from Old Dutch
roest "reed bed, rush forest". Alternatively, from Dutch
roest "rust", a nickname for a red-haired person.
Roffey EnglishThere are two small villages named "Roffey". One in England, near Horsham, and one in France, Burgundy. The name is of Norman orgin. First mentioned in (surviving English documents) in 1307 when a George Roffey buys a house... [
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Rogin JewishHabitational name from any of various villages named Rogi or from Rogin, all in Belarus.
Rogiński PolishHabitational name for someone from any of various places called Rogi, named with meaning róg "horn".
Rohe Low GermanThe surname ROHE is from a short form of a Germanic formed with Middle High German Rouen 'to roar' or old High German ruin 'Care' , 'intent' (See roch).
Rohi EstonianRohi is an Estonian surname meaning "grass" or "pasturage".
Rohme GermanFrom the Germanic personal name
Ruom (Old High German
hruom ‘fame’), a short form of
Ruombald and similar personal names containing this element.
Rohr German, JewishTopographic name for someone who lived in an area thickly grown with reeds, from Middle High German
ror. Also a habitational name from one of the several places named with this word.
Rohrbach German, German (Swiss)German and Swiss German: habitational name from any of numerous places called Rohrbach (‘reed brook’ or ‘channel brook’) in many parts of Germany, Switzerland, and Austria. It is a common surname in Pennsylvania.
Rohtla EstonianRohtla is an Estonian surname meaning "veld", "prairie" and "steppe".
Rohumaa EstonianRohumaa is an Estonian surname meaning "grassland" and "meadow".
Roisum NorwegianHabitational name from the farmstead in Sogn named Røysum, from the dative plural of Old Norse reysi ‘heap of stones’.
Roka JapaneseJapanese name meaning "White crest of the wave".
Rokutambo Japanese (Rare)From Japanese 六 (
roku) meaning "6" and 反穂 (
tambo), from 田圃 (
tambo) meaning "rice paddy field", referring to a rice paddy field with an area of 6 tans (around 5950 m²) in Japanese measurement.
Roland French, German, ScottishFrench, German, English, and Scottish: from a Germanic personal name composed
hrod ‘renown’ +
-nand ‘bold’, assimilated to
-lant ‘land’. (Compare
Rowland).... [
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Rolfs GermanThis surname means "son of
Rolf," a patronymic surname from northern Germany.
Roll Upper German, German, EnglishGerman: from Middle High German
rolle,
rulle ‘roll’, ‘list’, possibly applied as a metonymic occupational name for a scribe.... [
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Rollo ScottishFrom a Latinized form, common in early medieval documents, of the personal name
Rou(l), the usual Norman form of
Rolf.
Rolls EnglishPossibly derived from the Latin word
rotus, meaning "wheel". It would indicate one who built wheels as a living. A famous bearer was American inventor and entrepreneur Charles Rolls (1877-1910), founder of the Rolls-Royce Ltd along with Henry Royce (1863-1933).
Rolston EnglishEnglish habitational name from any of various places, such as Rowlston in Lincolnshire, Rolleston in Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire, and Staffordshire, or Rowlstone in Herefordshire, near the Welsh border... [
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Romana Catalan, French, Italian, Polish, English (Rare), German, Hungarian, Romanian, Ukrainian, BelarusianFrom the feminine form of the Latin personal name
Romanus, which originally meant "Roman".
Romansky Czech, Slovak, Polish, RussianIn Czech and Slovak usage, it is a habitational name from Romanov, a village in central Bohemia. In Polish usage, it is a habitational name for someone from any of several places in Poland called Romany, named with the personal name
Roman... [
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Romas GreekMeaning the Roman, held by a family originating from the Greek community of Sicily.
Rommel Upper German, DutchNickname for a noisy and disruptive person, from Middle Dutch
rommel "noise, disorder, disturbance". Alternatively, a variant of
Rummel.
Romney EnglishEnglish: habitational name from a place in Kent, so called from an obscure first element,
rumen, + Old English
ea ‘river’ (see
Rye).
Romo SpanishDerived from latin
(rhombus) meaning obtuse, blunt.
Romsey EnglishFrom the town of
Romsey in Hampshire, England. The surname itself is derived from Old English
rum meaning "broad", and
ey meaning "area of dry land in a marsh."
Ron Spanish, GalicianHabitational name from a town called Ron in A Coruña, Galicia, Spain.
Ronan Irishshortened Anglicized form of Gaelic
Ó Rónáin "descendant of
Rónán" a personal name apparently based on a diminutive of
rón "seal".
Roncesvalles SpanishThe name of a village in Navarre (Spain) where there was a Priory of Saint Mary of which the Hospital of Our Lady of Rouncevale at Charing Cross London was a cell.
Ronde DutchMeans "round" in Dutch, originally a nickname for a plump person, ultimately from Latin
rotundus.
Rondelli Italian, English, FrenchFrom the medieval name "Rondello" derived from French "rondel" meaning "go around, round" or "rondel", a French old nickname for a round, plump man.
Ronden DutchPossibly derived from Dutch
rond meaning "round, circular".
Rondriez m Spanishderived from
Rodríguez, the latter comes from the given name
Rodrigo which means "famous ruler" or "renowned power" in its Germanic origin (from "hrod" meaning fame and "ric" meaning ruler or power).
Rong ChineseFrom Chinese 荣
(róng) referring to the ancient fief of Rong, which existed during the Zhou dynasty in what is now Henan province.
Rong ChineseFrom Chinese 容
(róng) referring to a Zhou dynasty title used by officials who were in charge of managing rituals, music, and ceremonies. Alternately it may be derived from the name of the ancient state of Rong (location and time period unknown).
Rõngas EstonianRõngas is an Estonian surname meaning "ring", "annulet", "wreath" and "coil" (circular).
Ronnenberg German (Germanized, Rare)Ronnenberg is a German town in the region of Hannover in Niedersachsen. It consists of 7 areas: Benthe, Empelde, Ihme-Roloven, Linderte, Ronnenberg, Vörie and Weetzen. The town is known for the Church named Michaelis from the 12th century.... [
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Rønning NorwegianFrom any of the many farmsteads named Rønning, ultimately derived from Old Norse
ruðja "woodland clearing".
Röntgen GermanMeaning uncertain. This was the name of German physicist Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen (1845-1923) who discovered and studied x-rays. Röntgen called the radiation "X" because it was an unknown type of radiation.
Roo EstonianRoo is an Estonian surname derived from "roog" ("reed" or "cane") or "roos" ("rose").
Rooba EstonianRooba is an Estonian surname, derived from "roobas", meaning "ditch" or "rut".
Rood EnglishDesignating someone who lived near a cross,
rood in Middle English
Rook EnglishFrom a medieval nickname for someone thought to resemble a rook (e.g. in having black hair or a harsh voice).
Rool EstonianRool is an Estonian surname meaning "wheel" and "helm".
Rõõm EstonianRõõm is an Estonian surname meaning "gladness".