Rhodes
A mostly English surname, often explained as coming from place-names meaning a clearing or from a house-name like Roadhouse, though some families may have different local origins.
The #343 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 3,405 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The surname Rhodes has been explained in more than one way. Some 19th-century writers linked it to English place-names such as Roadhouse or Rodehouse, while others treated it as a local surname from places called Rhodes or Rodes, probably connected with Old English or Scandinavian words for a clearing or a clearing made by cutting. One source also suggested a Welsh link in a few cases, from Rhydderch, but that looks to be a separate explanation for only some bearers rather than the whole surname.
History
The name is well established in northern England, especially Yorkshire, Lancashire, and nearby counties, where parish and tax records show it early and often. Some families in Derbyshire were specifically connected with Roadhouse or Rodehouse, and Bardsley notes several local Rhodes families around Manchester and Middleton. The surname later spread widely in Britain and then overseas, especially to the United States.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Bardsley notes that Rhodes was common enough in Yorkshire that it turned up frequently in medieval tax records there.
From the historical record
“RHODEN for Roden, q.v. RHODES for Rodes, qv. Ill Rhydderch Riches”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)