Roark
A surname most likely from the Irish O'Rourke name, with Roark and Roarke as anglicized spellings.
The #2,489 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 21,280 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Roark is generally treated as an anglicized form of the Irish surname O'Rourke, itself from Gaelic Ó Ruairc. The Gaelic name is usually explained as meaning "descendant of Ruarc," with Ruarc understood as an old personal name. In English records the name appears in several spellings, including Roark, Roarke, and Roorke.
History
The excerpted 19th- and early-20th-century sources place Roark alongside Roarke and Roorke, suggesting it was already recognized as a variant spelling rather than a separate origin. In the United States the surname is found chiefly among families of Irish background, and the name has remained relatively uncommon compared with the standard form O'Rourke. The spelling Roark is now the best-known shortened anglicized form.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The same Gaelic family name can appear in English records with or without the initial O' and with several vowel spellings, which is why Roark and Roarke are often treated as closely related forms.
From the historical record
“ORourke. 61. Roark. Roarke, 61. Roorke.”
— Varieties and Synonymes of Surnames and Christian Names in Ireland