Subscribe >
Help
Member Login
Username Password (Forgot?)
Look up another surname
The rochester Surname

rochester Name Meaning and History

English: habitational name from the city in Kent, which is recorded by Bede (c.730) under the names of both Dorubrevi and Hrofæcæstre. The former represents the original British name, composed of the elements duro- ‘fortress’ and briva ‘bridge’. The second represents a contracted form of this (possibly affected by folk etymological connection with Old English hrof ‘roof’) combined with an explanatory Old English cæster ‘Roman fort’ (from Latin castra ‘military camp’). There is a much smaller place in Northumbria also called Rochester, which seems to have been named in imitation of the more important one, but which is a more than occasional source of the surname. In other cases there may also have been confusion with Wroxeter in Shropshire, recorded in Domesday Book as Rochecestre.

Dictionary of American Family Names, Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-508137-4
Learn the meaning and history of your first name
Share this page with friends and family

rochester Family Facts

Distribution of rochester Families in the US in 1920
Number of rochester families
 25-48
 9-24		 1-8
 0
Compiled by Ancestry.com.au from the 1920 US Federal Census records

Click on a state to view rochester census records

Year

How is this helpful?

  • You can decide where (in which states) to start searching for rochester records.
  • You can see how rochester families moved over time by selecting different Census years.

What do I do next?

The information for this map came from Ancestry.com.au’s US Federal Census Collection.
  • Census records can tell you little-known facts about your ancestors such as birthplace, residence and occupation.
  • Click here to search rochester census records.

More resources for your rochester family history

Start your FREE family tree. We'll start searching.

Enter a few simple facts about your family. We'll use what you enter to try and find more.

Begin your family tree with your name:


Member Connections

More Tools and Resources