Roth (surname)

This article is about the surname Roth. For other uses, see Roth (disambiguation).
Roth
Origin
Word/nameBritain, Germany, Ashkenazi Jews
Meaning"red", or "wood", or "renown"
Other names
Variant form(s)Reitman, Roiter, Roitman, Rojter, Roter, Rothchilds, Rothe, Rotheman, Rother, Rothert, Rothman, Rothmann, Rothbaum, Rothnie, Rothbauer, Rothchild, Rothschild, Rothwell, Rott, Rottman, Rothin, Rothfuss/fuß

Roth (/rɒθ/) is an English, German, or Jewish origin surname. There are seven theories on its origin:[citation needed]

  1. The spilling of blood from the warrior class of ancient Germanic soldiers;
  2. Ethnic name for an Anglo-Saxon, derived from rot (meaning "red" before the 7th century), referencing red-haired people;
  3. Topographical name, derived from rod (meaning "wood"), meaning a dweller in such a location;
  4. Derivative from hroth (from the Proto-Germanic word for "fame"; related to hrod);
  5. Local name for 18th-century Ashkenazi refugees to Germany;
  6. Derivative from roe in the ancient Danish language to signify (of) a king;
  7. Of the red colour of clay, as in pottery (German).

Note: Roth is not originally a Hebrew surname. Its origins are in northern Europe, and it is a common name in Scotland and other English-speaking countries as well as in German-speaking countries. For historic reasons, the Jewish people adopted various established names, many of which were common amongst non-Jewish people in their respective countries.

The first English-language historic record of the surname 'Roth' appeared in the United Kingdom in Colchester and Essex public records in 1346.[1]

  1. ^ "Surname: Roth". surnamedb.com. Retrieved 26 February 2008.