Origin
Rose : 1: English Scottish French Walloon Danish and German: from the name of the flower Middle English Old French Middle High German rose (from Latin rosa) in various applications. In part it is a topographic name for someone who lived at a place where wild roses grew or a topographic or habitational name referring to a house bearing the sign of the rose. It is also found especially in Europe as a nickname for a man with a ‘rosy’ complexion (compare 4 below). In North America the English form of the surname has absorbed cognates and similar-sounding names from other languages e.g. Hungarian Rózsa (see Rozsa) Slovak Róža and Czech Roza. Compare 6 below and French Larose 2.2: English: from the Middle English female personal name Rohese Roese later Rose Royse (ancient Germanic Hrodohaidis Rothaid composed of the elements hrōd ‘fame renown’ + haid(is) ‘kind sort’).3: English and Scottish: variant of Ross.4: French and Walloon (Rosé): nickname for someone with a rosy complexion from rosé ‘pinkish rosy’.5: French: habitational name from (La) Rose the name of several places in various parts of France. Compare Larose 3.6: French and Walloon: from the female personal name Rose from the name of the flower (see 1 above). This surname is also found in the West Indies and Mauritius.7: Italian (Calabria): habitational name from Rose the name of a place in Calabria.8: In some cases also an Americanized or Italianized form of Slovenian Rože: from a short form of any old vernacular form of the personal name Erazem Latin Erasmus in which the syllable raz was altered to rož (see Rozman).9: Jewish (Ashkenazic): from the Yiddish female personal name Royze derived from the Yiddish word royz ‘flower’ or an artificial name from the same word.
Bellerose : French: soldier's name from belle rose ‘beautiful rose’. This surname is rare in France. Compare Belrose.
Bradford : English: habitational name from any of the many places large and small called Bradford; in particular the city in Yorkshire which originally rose to prosperity as a wool town. There are others in Derbyshire Devon Dorset Greater Manchester Norfolk Somerset Cheshire Wiltshire and elsewhere. They are all named with Old English brād ‘broad’ + ford ‘ford’.
Brear : 1: from Middle English (atte) bre(i)r ‘(at the) prickly or thorny plant’ for someone who lived by such plants such as brier (the dog rose) or bramble. Compare Briers.from the word in (i) perhaps alluding to a sharp-tongued person. This seems to be implied by the Middle English surname Le Brer but this could be short for atte brer ‘at the briar’ with scribal substitution of French le for English the. 2: reduced form of Brearey. Redmonds Dictionary of Yorks Surnames cites Jonathon and Sarah Breary or Breare 1691–1704 in Parish Registers (Silsden Kildwick WR Yorks) and Miles Brearah or Brear 1757–62 in Parish Registers (Rothwell WR Yorks).
Briar : English: topographic name from Middle English (atte) bre(i)r ‘(at the) prickly or thorny plant’ for someone who lived by such plants such as brier (the dog rose) or bramble (compare Breer) or a nickname perhaps alluding to a sharp-tongued person.
Calin : 1: Romanian (Călin): from the personal name Călin a short form of Calinic (from Greek Kallinikos derived from kallos ‘beauty’ and nikē ‘victory’) or a nickname from călin ‘guelder rose (Viburnum opulus)’.2: French: nickname from Old French caslin ‘indolent person’.3: French (mainly Nord): variant of Callin itself probably a derivative of Calle.4: Possibly also an Americanized form of Slovenian Kalin.
Chambers : English:: 1: from Middle English chaumbre ‘room (in a house); reception room in a palace or official building’ (Old French chambre). It is identical in implied function with the Chamberlain which denoted an official: to pay in cameram was to pay into the exchequer of which the camerarius or chamberer was in charge. The surname also applied to clerks employed there. As the office of Chamberlain rose in the social scale this term remained reserved for more humble servants of the bedchamber or private quarters.2: (of Norman origin): habitational name from Les Chambres Manche (France).
De Roos : Dutch: from roos ‘rose’ with the addition of the definite article de ‘the’ probably a topographic or habitational name referring to a house distinguished by the sign of a rose or possibly a nickname for a man with a rosy complexion. Compare De Rose.
Desrosiers : 1: French and Haitian: topographic name for someone living among rose bushes from the plural of (Old) French rosier ‘rose bush’ with fused preposition and definite article des ‘from the’; or a habitational name for someone from Les Rosiers the name of several places in various parts of France. Compare Derosier and Desrosier.2: Altered form of French (mainly Haute-Savoie) Deronzier: habitational name for someone from Ronzier the name of a few places in the southeastern part of France from a regional variant of roncier ‘bramble’. Compare Derosia and Rosebush.
Hebditch : from a lost place called Hebditch in Bishops Caundle (Dorset) which is recorded as Hepedich' in 1332 Hebdychelane in 1538. The place-name derives from Middle English hepe ‘(hip of) the wild rose’ + dich ‘ditch’ (Old English hēopa ‘dog rose bramble’ or hēope ‘hip fruit of the wild rose’ + dīc).
Hepple : from Hepple in Rothbury (Northumb) which is recorded as Hyephal in 1229 and Hephale in 1252. The place-name derives from Old English hēope ‘rose hip’ or hēopa ‘dog rose bramble’ + halh ‘nook corner of land’.
Heptinstall : English: habitational name from Heptonstall (Yorkshire) from Old English hēope ‘rose hip’ or hēopa ‘dog rose bramble’ + tūn-stall ‘site of a farm farmstead’ (from tūn ‘farmstead estate’ + stall ‘place’).
Heptonstall : from Heptonstall (WR Yorks) which is recorded as Heptonstall in 1253. The place-name derives from Old English hēope ‘rose hip’ or hēopa ‘dog rose bramble’ + tūn-stall ‘site of a farm farmstead’ (from tūn ‘farmstead estate’ + stall ‘place’).
Hepworth : English (Yorkshire and Lancashire): habitational name primarily from Hepworth (Yorkshire) or less likely from the place so named in Suffolk. The Yorkshire placename derives from an Old English personal name Heppa + Old English worth ‘enclosure’ while the Suffolk placename comes from Old English hēope ‘rose hip’ or hēopa ‘dog rose bramble’ + worth.
Kalina : 1: Polish Czech Slovak Sorbian German (of Slavic origin) and Jewish (eastern Ashkenazic): from Polish Czech Slovak and Lower Sorbian kalina ‘guelder rose snowball tree (Viburnum opulus)’. As a Slavic name it is probably topographic; as a Jewish name it is more likely artificial.2: Polish and Czech: from the personal name Kalina a derivative of various personal names in particular Latin Calixtus (see Kalista) or Aquilinus (see Aquilino).3: Jewish (eastern Ashkenazic): habitational name from a place called Kalina or Kalino.
La Rosa : 1: Italian (southern; also Larosa): from rosa ‘rose’ (see Rosa) with the definite article la a topographic name for someone living by a prominent rose bush.2: Spanish: habitational name from any of the places called La Rosa in southern Spain or a short form of the surname De la Rosa.
Larose : 1: French and Walloon: from la rose ‘the rose’ used as a soldier's name; it was one of the most common nicknames (noms de guerre) among French soldiers (see Lafleur).2: French and Walloon: variant of Rose 1 with fused feminine definite article la.3: French and Walloon: habitational name from La Rose the name of several places in various parts of France. Compare Rose 5.4: West Indian (mainly Haiti) and Mauritian: from the personal name or nickname Larose or La Rose which has the same meaning as 1 above.
Maund : English:: 1: variant of Mander 1.2: habitational name from Maund Bryan or Rose Maund in Herefordshire possibly named in Old English as ‘(place at) the hollows’ from the dative plural of maga ‘stomach’ (used in a topographic sense). Mills suggests it may alternatively be a survival of an ancient Celtic term magnis probably meaning ‘the rocks’.
Nethercott : English (Devon and Somerset): habitational name from one or more of the many minor places called Nethercott in Devon (the placename occurs in the parishes of Alverdiscott Braunston Broadwood Kelly Broadwoodwidger Chawleigh Iddesleigh Lifton Oakford Parkham Rose Ash Spreyton and Tetcott) or from Nethercote (Northamptonshire) or from Nethercote in Lewknor or Nethercott in Tackley (both in Oxforshire). All of the placenames derive from Middle English nether ‘lower’ + cot ‘cottage’ (Old English neothera cot) except Nethercote in Lewknor Oxfordshire which derives from Middle English other ‘other’ (Old English ōther) + cot with the N- due to misdivision of Middle English atten other.
Nutcombe : from one or more of the places so named in Devon such as Nutcombe in Combe Martin which is recorded as Notecombe in 1473 Nutcombe in East Allington recorded as Nottecombe in 1430 Nutcombe in Rose Ash recorded as Nuttecumb in 1238 and Nutcombe in Clayhanger recorded as Notcomb in 1334. The place-names all derive from Old English hnutu ‘nut nut-tree’ + cumb ‘valley’.
Pluckrose : from Middle English plukken‘to pull’ + rose ‘rose’. Compare John Pullerose 1296 in Subsidy Rolls (Sussex) and William Pullerose 1301 in Subsidy Rolls (Yorks). According to Patronymica Britannica the medieval practice of holding lands by the annual rent of a rose survived into the 19th century: ‘A friend of mine holds a landed property on the borders of Ashdown Forest Sussex part of the Duchy of Lancaster by one red rose. On the front of a farm-house belonging to him is a large rose tree to which the reeve of the manor periodically comes and either plucking or pulling a flower sticks it into his button-hole and walks off.’
Pybus : English (Yorkshire and Durham):: 1: perhaps a nickname for someone with a prickly temperament from Middle English pikebush ‘prickle bush’ later simplified to Pybus(h) or Pybus(k). The word probably denoted a plant such as bramble gorse or wild rose. The change may have been influenced by folk etymology re-interpreting the name as pie ‘magpie’ + bush from the habit of magpies of perching on top of tall bushes.2: alternatively a topographic or habitational name for someone who lived by a pikebush ‘prickle bush’ or in a locality so named.
Razza : Italian:: 1: probably a metonymic occupational name for a herbalist from a plant name which denoted different species in different dialects for example charlock or rock cress (in Sicily) rock rose (in Modena) and the bramble or the medicinal plant smilax in certain other regions.2: possibly from razza used for certain kinds of fish the weever perch or pike and the surname probably arose from a nickname for someone with fish-like characteristics or from a metonymic occupational name for a fisherman.
Ringrose : English: nickname from a Middle English phrase either ringe (the) rose where ringe is a verb or ring on the rose shortened to ringotherose and ringerose where ring is a noun. The name may allude to a game similar to quoits. Compare to ring the bull ‘to play a game where participants throw or swing a ring on to a hook fixed upon a wall or target’. Alternatively it may allude to a singing dance of a type preserved in the children's singing game ring-a-ring o' roses where participants hold hands and dance in a circle falling down at the end of the song. The game is not recorded in England before 1855 but was known in Massachusets c. 1790 and may derive from an adult dance of older date.
Roes : Dutch; North German (also Rös):: 1: topographic or habitational name referring to a house distinguished by the sign of a rose Middle Dutch roose.2: from the female personal name Rosa.
Roesler : 1: German (mainly Rösler): occupational name for a rose grower from an agent derivative of Middle High German rōse ‘rose’ or a habitational name for someone who lived at a house named ‘At the Rose’.2: German (mainly Rösler): variant of Rössler (see Roessler) and in eastern Germany of Resler.3: German (mainly Rösler): from an agent derivative of Middle High German rœse ‘pool where hemp and flax were retted’.4: German (mainly Rösler): from a short form of an ancient Germanic personal name formed with hrōd ‘renown’. Compare Rosler.5: Jewish (Ashkenazic; also Rösler): variant of Roessler 2 and Rosler 2.
Roos : 1: Dutch (also De Roos): topographic or habitational name referring to a house distinguished by the sign of a rose or a metonymic occupational name for someone who grew roses from roos ‘rose’.2: Dutch: from the female personal name Rosa (from Latin rosa ‘rose’).3: Dutch: nickname from roos ‘erysipelas’ an infection which causes reddening of the skin and scalp applied presumably to someone with a ruddy complexion.4: German and Danish (of German origin): variant of Rose a cognate of 1 above.5: Swiss German: from a personal name formed with hrōd ‘fame renown’.6: Swedish: variant of Ros a cognate of 1 above.7: English and Scottish: variant of Ross.
Roosevelt : Dutch: habitational name either from a farm named Rozenveld (there is one in Zeeland) or from one named Ruiseveld (there is one in Brabant). Rozenfeld could be a compound of Middle Dutch rose ‘wild rose’ (or ‘poppy’?) + velt ‘open country’ or like Ruiseveld of Middle Dutch rusch ‘rush reed’ (roos- in field names) + velt thus ‘open land growing with rushes’. If the source is Ruiseveld then Roosevelt is a variant of the Flemish surname Van Ruyssevelt recorded as Roysevelt in 1646 and de Roosevelt in 1652.
Rosa : 1: Italian Catalan Spanish and Portuguese: from rosa ‘rose’ (from Latin rosa) applied as a topographic name for someone who lived where wild roses grew or as a topographic or habitational name referring to a house distinguished by the sign of a rose or as a nickname for someone with a pink rosy complexion.2: Italian: from the female personal name Rosa from rosa ‘rose’. Under the influence of the cults of various Christian saints particularly Rosa patron saint of Viterbo this was a popular personal name in medieval Italy. It is also a Marian devotional name (compare Rosario 1). Compare also De Rosa.3: Spanish and Portuguese: from the female personal name Rosa (see 2 above) or a short form of a surname such as De la Rosa (Spanish) or Da Rosa (Portuguese).4: Polish and Czech: from the vocabulary word rosa ‘dew juice sap’ applied as a nickname.5: Croatian and Serbian (Roša): from a Slavicized form of the Italian nickname Rosso (compare Roso) or from a short and pet form of various personal names containing the syllable ro(š) (see Rosko).6: Slovenian: probably a nickname from rosa ‘dew’.
Rosario : 1: Spanish and Portuguese: short form of a surname such as Spanish Del Rosario or from a short form of the Marian name María del Rosario given in particular to a girl who was born on the festival of Our Lady of the Rosary celebrated on the first Sunday in October. The word rosario ‘rosary’ derives from Late Latin rosarium ‘rose garden’ and was transferred to a set of devotions dedicated to the Virgin Mary as the result of the medieval symbolism which constantly compared her to a rose. Compare Rozario.2: Italian: from the male personal name Rosario of the same origin as 1 (above) or a habitational name from a minor place so named.
Roseblade : from Middle English rose ‘rose’ + blad(e) ‘leaf’. Compare Rosenblatt.
Rosebrock : North German: habitational name from Rosebruch a district of Rotenburg Lower Saxony so named from Middle Low German rose ‘rose’ + brōk brūk ‘swamp’.
Roseland : 1: English: habitational name from Roseland in Alciston (Sussex) or Roseland (Cornwall). The Sussex placename derives from Middle English rose ‘rose’ + lond land ‘land’. The Cornwall placename derives from Middle Cornish ros ‘upland high ground’ + Middle English lond land.2: Americanized form of Norwegian Røyseland or Røysland: habitational name from about 30 farmsteads mainly in Agder named from Old Norse reysi ‘heap of stones’ + land ‘(piece of) land farmstead’.
Rosemeyer : German: nickname and distinguishing name for a farmer who grew or liked roses from a compound of Middle High German rose ‘rose’ + meier ‘(tenant) farmer steward’.
Rosen : 1: Jewish (Ashkenazic): artificial name from German Rosen ‘roses’.2: Swedish (mainly Rosén): ornamental name composed of the elements ros ‘rose’ + the adjectival suffix -én/-en a derivative of Latin -enius ‘relating to’. Compare Roseen and Rosene.3: German: from an inflected form of the personal name Rose.4: German: habitational name from any of several places in Westphalia former Silesia and East Prussia named Rosen from Rose ‘rose’.5: English (Middlesex): nickname from Middle English rosen(e) ‘rosy rose-colored’ denoting someone with a rosy complexion.
Rosenau : German: habitational name from any of numerous places so named (all through Germany also in Austria and Alsace) from Middle High German rōse ‘rose’ + ouw(e) ‘water meadow’.
Rosenbauer : German: occupational name for a rose grower from Middle High German rōse ‘rose’ + būr ‘farmer’ (see Bauer).
Rosenbrock : North German: habitational name from a place called Rosenbrock or a topographic name from Middle Low German rose ‘rose’ + brock ‘marsh’.
Rosenbusch : 1: German: topographic name for someone who lived where roses grew from Middle High German rōse ‘rose’ + busch ‘bush’.2: Jewish (Ashkenazic): artificial name from German Rosenbusch ‘rose bush’.
Rosenstock : 1: German: topographic or habitational name referring to a house distinguished by the sign of a rose bush Middle High German rōsenstoc.2: Jewish (Ashkenazic): artificial name from the German compound Rosenstock ‘rose bush’.
Rosentreter : German: from Middle High German rose ‘rose’ + an agent derivative of treten ‘to step or tread’ an occupational name for a rose grower or a topographic name for someone who lived by a path that was overgrown with roses.
Rosenzweig : 1: German: topographic or habitational name referring to a house distinguished by the sign of a rose spray Middle High German rōsenzwīc.2: Jewish (Ashkenazic): artificial name from German Rosenzweig ‘rose twig’.
Roser : 1: German: topographic name for someone who lived at a place where wild roses grew (see Rose 1) with the suffix -er denoting an inhabitant or an occupational name for a rose grower or a nickname for a lover of roses.2: German (Röser): habitational name for someone from any of the places called Rös Roes or Rösa in Bavaria Rhineland and Saxony.3: German (Röser): variant of Rösser (see Rosser 3).4: Swiss German (Röser): from a short form of an ancient Germanic personal name based on hrōd ‘renown’.5: English: variant of Rosier.6: Jewish (Ashkenazic): from German Rose ‘rose’ + the agent suffix -er (compare 1 above) one of surnames assigned at random by Austrian clerks.
Rosler : 1: German (Rösler): see Roesler.2: Jewish (eastern Ashkenazic; also Rösler): from German Rose ‘rose’ + the agent suffix -ler one of surnames assigned at random by Austrian clerks. Compare Roesler.3: Jewish (eastern Ashkenazic; also Rösler): variant of Rossler and Roessler.
Rosner : 1: German (Rösner): habitational name for someone from a place called Rosenau or Rosna or for someone who lived at a house distinguished by the sign of a rose from Middle High German rōse ‘rose’. Compare Roesner.2: Jewish (Ashkenazic): variant of Rose 9.
Ross : 1: Scottish: habitational name from one or other of a number of Scottish and English places called Ross or Roos(e) especially Roose (Lancashire) and Roos (East Yorkshire). The placenames derive from a British ancestor of Welsh rhos ‘moor heath plain’ which is the sense of the cognate Gaelic word ros. The Scottish surname has at least three origins. First the Anglo-Norman family from Roos (East Yorkshire) was introduced to Scotland when Robert of Roos lord of Wark Castle (Northumberland) married Isabella an illegitimate daughter of King William the Lion. Second various families took the name from the province of Ross in northern Scotland and other places of that name. Third there were Norman families in Scotland by the 13th century who probably derived their name from Rots in Normandy (see 2 below). The descendants of Godfrey de Ros tenant of the de Morville lords of Cunninghame were major landholders in Ayrshire and almost certainly took their name from Rots. The Rose family of Kilravock (Nairnshire) may take their name from either of these three (see Rose). The lairds of Balnagown adopted the surname Ross after the earldom of Ross (to which they considered themselves rightful heirs) had passed into other hands through the female line.2: English (of Norman origin): habitational name from Rots in Calvados (France) probably named with the ancient Germanic element rod ‘clearing’ (compare Rhodes). This was the original home of a family de Ros who were established in Kent in 1130 and had major estates in Kent until well into the 13th century.3: English: habitational name from Wrose in Shipley near Bradford (Yorkshire) with re-spelling of Wr- as R- due to the loss of /w/ before /r/ in early modern English pronunciation. The spelling Wrose is no longer current. The placename derives from Old English wrāse ‘knot something twisted’ referring to the steep-sided hill on which the settlement stands with the sense ‘broken or twisting hill’.4: English and German: from the ancient Germanic personal name Rozzo a short form of various compound names with the first element hrōd ‘fame renown’ introduced into England by the Normans in the form Roce Rosce Rozo. Compare Rossell.5: Cornish: habitational name from one or other of a number of minor places in Cornwall called Rose Roose or Rowse (see Rouse) named with Middle Cornish ros ‘promontory hill spur moor’.6: German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): metonymic occupational name for a breeder or keeper of horses from Middle High German ros German Ross ‘horse’; perhaps also a nickname for someone thought to resemble a horse or a topographic or habitational name referring to a house distinguished by the sign of a horse.7: Americanized form of Jewish Rose 9.
Rosson : 1: English: habitational name from Rostherne (Cheshire) from the Old Norse personal name Rauthr (genitive Rauths) + Old English or Old Norse thorn ‘thorn tree’.2: English: patronymic from the Middle English female personal name Rohese Roese later Rose Royse + -son. See Rose.3: English: patronymic from the Middle English personal name Rozo Rosce + -son. See Ross.4: Italian: from an augmentative of Rosso.
Rouse : 1: English: nickname for a person with red hair or a ruddy complexion from Middle English Anglo-Norman French rous(e) ‘red(-haired)’ (from Latin russ(e)us).3: Americanized form of German Raus.2: Walloon and northern French (Rousé): variant of Rosé (see Rose).
Rowsey : Altered form of a Walloon or perhaps French (mainly northern) surname probably Rouzé or Rousé (see Rouse) variants of Rosé (see Rose). The surname Rowsey was brought to North America from England. Compare Rousey and Rowzee.
Rozema : Dutch (mainly Groningen and Drenthe) and West Frisian: possibly a topographic or habitational name for someone living at a house distinguished by the sign of a rose derived from roos ‘rose’ + the Frisian suffix -ma originally denoting ‘(one of the) men of’.
Rozier : 1: English (Suffolk): from Middle English rose ‘rose’ + -er perhaps a topographic name for someone who lived in a place where wild roses grew. See Rose.2: French: variant of Rosier.
Rusche : 1: German: variant of Rusch.2: German: from a Germanized form of Czech růže ‘rose’ probably a metonymic occupational name for a rose grower.3: German (Rüsche): habitational name from a place so named in Schleswig-Holstein (see also Ruesch).4: Germanized form of Sorbian Roš and Roša (see Rosch 2).
Shewan : see Sawin and compare Donald Schewaneson 1431 in Family of Rose of Kilravock and John Schewynsoun witness in Dundrennan 1545 in Laing Charters.
Viney : English (Hampshire and Wiltshire):: 1: from one or more of the minor places called with Middle English fin-hawe ‘wood-heap enclosure’ (Old English fīn-haga) such as Viney's Wood in Crundale (Kent) Vinehall in Mountfield (Sussex) and the lost Vinals Farm in Cuckfield (also Sussex). Pronunciation of initial f- as /v/ was common in medieval Surrey Sussex and Kent.2: from Venhay in Rose Ash (Devon) named from Old English fenn ‘marsh’ + (ge)hæg ‘enclosure’. Pronunciation of initial f- as /v/ is typical of Devon dialect.
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Source : DAFN2 : Dictionary of American Family Names 2nd edition, ©2022 by Patrick Hanks and Oxford University Press
FANBI : The Oxford Dictionary if Family Names in Britain and Ireland, ©2016, University of the West of England
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