Munroe
A Scottish surname, usually a spelling variant of Munro, long associated with the Highland clan name.
The #5,583 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 49,590 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Munroe is generally treated as a spelling variant of Munro, the well-known Scottish clan surname. The name is usually explained as coming from the Gaelic form often interpreted as meaning "from the mouth of the Roe," referring to the River Roe in Ulster, though older sources sometimes give simpler clan-based explanations without much detail. In English records, Munro and Munroe appear as interchangeable spellings.
History
The surname is especially associated with the Scottish Highlands and the Clan Munro. In the historical surname dictionaries provided, Munroe is explicitly cross-referenced to Munro/Monro rather than given a separate origin. The spelling with -e at the end became established in some branches, especially in Scotland, Ireland, and later North America.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The spelling Munroe often survives as a family spelling even when the surname is historically the same clan name as Munro.
From the historical record
“MUNRO MUNROE \ = Monro, Monroe, q.v. MUNSEY =■ Mounsey, q.v. MUNT (A.-Fr.-Lat.) Dweller at a Mount [M.E. munt, mont, Fr. mont, Lat. mons, month, a”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)