This surname is derived from the name of an ancestor. 'the son of Rose.' Latin rosa, a rose. Very popular at the period surnames were becoming hereditary; hence strongly represented in all our directories.

Thomas fil. Rose, Cambridgeshire, 1273. Hundred Rolls.

Richard fil. Rose, Nottinghamshire, ibid.

Adam Costenoght et Rosa uxor ejus, 1379: Poll Tax of Yorkshire.

Johannes Rose, 1379: ibid.

Rosa Held, 1379: ibid.

Or, again from the same period: Johanna Rose-doghter, 1379: Poll Tax of Yorkshire.

Isabella filia Rose, 1379: ibid.

Rosa de Berlowe, 1379: ibid.

(2) Local, 'of the rose,' i.e. at the rose-tree, or at the sign of the Rose.

John de la Rose, Oxfordshire, 1273. Hundred Rolls.

Robert de la Rose, Oxfordshire ibid.

Elena de la Ros, Oxfordshire, ibid.

The family of Rose of Kilravock are believed to be a branch of de Ross, which see. They did not blossom into a great clan but have kept well to the old acres, and show a remarkably unbroken pedigree, every link being proved by documentary evidence in A Genealogical deduction of the family of Rose of Kilravock, 1848. The tradition in Clan Donald (I, p. 101) that the family are descended from one of the Irish O'Cathans is worthless. Muriel de Roys granted a charter, 1333 (Rose, p. 116), and William Rose was a charter witness in inverness, c. 1360 (Grant, III, p. 12). Andrew de Rose was perpetual vicar of Innerafferayn in the diocese of Ross, 1440 (Pop. Lett., IX, p. 445).

(I) The first record of this surname in Scotland is in Ayrshire, a considerable portion of the northern part of which in the twelfth century was held by a family of Ros or Ross, that came from Yorkshire. Godfrey de Ros, a vassal of the de Morevilles, obtained from Richard de Moreville the lands of Stewarton in Cunningham (Chalmers I, p. 505). James de Ros, Reginald de Ros, and Peter de Ros appear about the same time as vassals of Richard de Moreville and as witnesses in his charters. Godfrey de Ros witnessed de Moreville's charter of Gillemoristun, "que antiquitus uocabatur peniacob" to Edulfus filius Utredi, a. 1189 (REG., p. 39). Sir Godfrey Rose, Arthur de Ross, and Fergus de Rosse witnessed an agreement between the burgesses of Irvine and Brice of Eglunstone, 1205 (Irvine, I, p. 3). Several of the name rendered homage, 1296 (Bain, 11). Godfrey de Roos in 1363 had a gift for life of the forfeited lands of Sir John Maxwell and of Bernard of Howdene for his services to England (Bain, IV, 88). Robert de Rooss was charter witness in Perth, 1409 (RER., I, 26), Donaldus de Ross witnessed a notarial instrument, 1413 (Pollok, I, p. 146), and John Roosse (Rosse, Roos) of Montgrenane was one of the conservators of the three years truce, 1484-86 (Bain, IV, 1505, 1520, 1521). (2) in the north the surname is derived from the district of Ross. Malcolm, earl of Ross, c. 1150, was of the G the family of O'Beolan. "There never was an earl who bore the surname of Ross, but when (he title passed to descendants in the female line, the lairds of Balnagown assumed the name as male representatives of the earls" (Sc. Ant., p. 1). Alexander Ross of Balnagown, Master William Ross, and William Ross were among those killed in the battle of Aldecherwis, 1486 (Kalendar of Feme). (3) A descriptive name, from ME. rous(e

(Anglo-Latin) a pers. name, nickname and sign-name from the flower [Old English rose; Latin rosa] Richard son Rose.—Hundred Rolls Nicholas de la Rose.—Hundred Rolls And maister Frank the goldsmith at the Rose.—Pasquin, Night-Cap, A.D. 1612; Lower, i. 211.

(English) Roe's (Son): v. Roe.

(Anglo-French-Teut.) Row(e)’s (Son)-Row(e, a contraction of Rowland or Roland, q.v.

(Celtic) Dweller at a Moor [Welsh rhos = Cornish rós] “Rose-Market or Rhos-Market, a parish in the hundred of Roose, co. Pembroke . . .”.—Nat. Gaz.

Cp. Roos(e.

(English, Scottish, German) Dweller at the sign of the rose, a not uncommon inn sign; dweller at the sign of the horse.

This common and very beautiful name is somewhat difficult to account for. I am inclined to think that it is often a substitution for Ross. The rose, it is true, has in all ages been regarded as the "Queen of Flowers," and as such has ever been associated with poetry and symbolism; but how it became a surname, I can only conjecture, that it was from the device of the original bearer, whether that was displayed upon the patrician banner, or upon the ignoble sign-post. Salverte mentions a noble family of Poland, in the twelfth century, who are known to have adopted their surname of Rose from the charge of their shield; and he adduces other instances of a similar practice. Essai, i. 240, &c. The Roses of Nairnshire, settled there from temp. Alexander III., originally wrote themselves De Boos. Hugh Rose of Geddes, by marriage with the heiress of Byset, acquired the lands of Kilravock, and had a crown charter of the barony from King John Baliol. "From that period the estate has descended lineally to the present proprietor." B.L.G.

This surname is susceptible of several explanations. 1. In some cases it is undoubtedly of foreign local origin. In Domesday we find, in Kent, a tenant called Anschitil de Ros, and, in Buckinghamshire, another named Ansgotus de Ros. These probably came from Ros, a commune in the arrondissement of Caen, in Normandy. 2. It is of British local origin. The great barons Ros, or Roos, of Hamlake, co. York, sprang from one Peter, who, in the reign of Henry I., assumed his surname from his lordship of Ros, in Holderness. Baronage. The Bosses of the South of Scotland appear to have sprung from the English family, and to have passed into Renfrewshire, as the vassals of Richard de Moreville in the XII. century, settling at Halkhead, co. Renfrew, and at Dalton, co. Dumfries. 3. There are several towns and villages in North and South Britain called Ross, and these, as well as ross. a heath or morass, and ross, a promontory, may have a claim. 4. The name seems sometimes to have had reference to the colour or complexion of the first bearer, and to have been a modification of Le Rous, Rufus, or the Red. The ancient family of Ross of Renfrew, descending from Alysandre, who flourished at Renfrew, so early as the reign of King David I., wrote themselves "the Ross of Renfrew," apparently down to the XV. century. See Knowles's Genealogy of Coulthart, p. 16. 5. Mr. Ferguson claims the name as Teutonic, deriving it from Old Saxon, hros, Old Norse, hross, &c., a horse. 6. Mr. Skene insinuates a claim on behalf of the Gaelic. "It is well known," says he, "that the surname of Ross has always been rendered in Gaelic, Clan Aurias, or Clan Gille Aurias." Scottish Highlanders, ii. 224.

Local: from the district of Ross. Robert de Ross married Isabel, daughter of William the Lion. Sir John Ross was created Lord Ross in 1489.

From some place of the name, perhaps from Rose in Perranzabuloe; from rose, rosh, a valley between hills; or from ros, a mountain meadow, common, moss. Hence the names Ress, Roose, Ros, Ross, Rosse, Rous, Rouse, Rowse, Ruse, Rush.

(Gaelic.) Local. A shire of Scotland. Bos, a peninsula, an isthmus, a promontory. Rhos, in Welsh, is a moor, a bog. Ros, in Cornish-British, is a mountain, a meadow, a common. Rose and Rosh signify a valley or dale between hills.

From the French, Rose; a personal name Rose is among the list of naturalized Protestant exiles from the continent.

Rose.—This name has at least two centres: one in the south in Dorset, Oxfordshire, and Wilts, the other in the northern midlands in Notts. It was common in Oxfordshire as far back as the 13th century (Hundred Rolls).

The Dorset name of Ross is probably a variation of Russ, a name that has characterised the adjacent county of Wilts for many centuries.

Ross is both an English and a Scottish name. As Ros, De Ros, Le Ros, Le Rus, etc., it was established over the greater part of England, from Northumberland to Wiltshire, GOO years ago (Hundred Rolls). Ross is now a Dorset name, whilst Russ has been a Wiltshire name for at least six centuries.

The surname Ross has several variations, none of which is predominant. One derivation is from the Norman French name Roce, from Old German Rozzo, which originated from personal names containing the Old German word ‘hroth’-‘fame’. This word also gives us the first syllable of the name Robert (see Roberts/Robertson). So in this case Ross comes from a Norman first name of Germanic origin, and as such would have first arrived in England at the time of the Norman Conquest.

The other derivations are from a variety of place names all containing the Celtic element ‘ros’ or ‘rhos’-‘a heath, a promontory or an isthmus’. Thus Ross would mean ‘from Ross’. There are places called Ross in Herefordshire and Northumbria; there is a Scottish county of Ross. There are places called Roos in Yorkshire and Roose in Lancashire, both of which could give rise to the local surname Ross, as well. Other place names containing Ros-, Rose- and Rhos- occur in Wales, Scotland, Brittany, Ireland and Cornwall.

Another source of the name Ross is the small village of Rots in Calvados (Normandy). By this derivation the surname came across the Channel with the Normans in 1066.

The first mention of Ross as a surname appears in the Pipe Rolls of 1197 for Kent, where one Johannes filius Rosce is mentioned. The name in this instance almost certainly comes from the Norman word for fame.

A Ross became chief of the Cherokee Indians in 1828. John Ross, also known as Kooeshoowe (1790—1866), was the son of a Scottish father and an Indian mother. For years Ross bravely resisted the encroachment of the white man and his laws on Cherokee territory, but despite all his attempts it was largely a losing battle.

As every US schoolboy knows, Betsy Ross (1752—1836) stitched the first American flag, at the request of George Washington. Recent historical opinion, however, has begun to doubt the authenticity of Betsy’s patriotic feat.

The first man to discover the magnetic north pole (1831) was Sir James Clarke Ross (1800—62). This famous explorer also sailed the coasts of Antarctica, many parts of which are named after him.

The Nobel Prize-winning pathologist, Sir Ronald Ross (1857— 1932), was a professor of tropical medicine. Best known for his investigations into malaria, he made the discovery that the disease is transmitted by the anopheles mosquito.

Fur trader and pioneer Alexander Ross left Scotland to join John Jacob Astor’s 1810 expedition to the unexplored wilds of Oregon. He later helped found Astoria, Fort Walla Walla and the Red River Settlement, and left vivid accounts of his adventures in books such as Fur Hunters of the Far West.

One United Kingdom geographic feature, Rossall Point, and 9 towns and cities are related to this name, including 3 towns named Ross and Ross-on-Wye. South Africa has a Rossing while Canada has a Rossendale, Rossland, Rossport, Rossway and Rosswood. Australia and Senegal each have a Ross while Ireland has 8 Ross-related towns including Rosslare. In the United States there are 9 such towns. Geographic features named for Ross are all over the globe. There are Ross Islands in Antarctica and in Burma as well as a veritable flood of lakes and rivers and masses of mountains.

With about 23,000 namesakes Ross is the 15th most popular surname in Scotland. Thus one out of 230 Scots is so named. (The name is not common enough in England and Wales to be counted separately.) Around the world Ross’s are most common in Vancouver (one in 712 families), Toronto (one in 809) and Auckland (one in 843). The United States has more Ross’s than the entire population of Southampton-an estimated total of just over 242,000 makes this their 77th most popular surname.