Roan
A surname that can point either to someone from Rouen in Normandy or, less certainly, to a place-name linked with the rowan tree.
The #9,073 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 85,691 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The strongest historical explanation treats Roan as a medieval spelling of Rouen, the Norman city, so the name could originally identify someone who came from there. Some 19th-century surname scholars also connected it with local names referring to the rowan or mountain-ash tree, though that reading is less certain and may overlap with similar forms such as Roantree. The surname may therefore have more than one origin, depending on the family line.
History
Lower explicitly glossed Roan as a medieval spelling of Rouen, and used a famous medieval example referring to Richard the Lionheart. Later surname writers also discussed related forms in Britain and Scotland, especially where rowan-tree place names were involved. In modern records the surname appears relatively uncommon and can reflect either Norman locational ancestry or a separate local nickname/place-name origin.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
In medieval literature, Rouen was often shortened to “Roan,” which is why the name turns up in old poetic references to Richard the Lionheart.
From the historical record
“Cp. Roche- ROAN "I (Scand.) Dweller at a Roan- or ROANE J Rowan -Tree pi.Eng. and Scot. roaurtree, rowan-tree I Dan.-Norw. ronne (tree) = Swed. ronn, O.N. reyni-r, rowan- tree] (A.-Fr.-Lat.-Celt.) Bel. to Rouen [A.-Fr. (andBret.)5oa»,L.Lat.J?oto»i-M»i,Lat.-Celt. Rotomag-us : -magus is the Latinized form of the…”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)