Rolle
A surname from the medieval personal name Rolf/Raoul, ultimately tied to the old Germanic name meaning “famous wolf.”
The #6,960 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 64,068 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Rolle is generally treated as a surname formed from a medieval personal name, especially the Old French Raoul/Roul and related forms like Rolf and Rodolf. These names go back to older Germanic elements, commonly explained as meaning “famous wolf.” Some 19th-century writers also connected the name with Scandinavian Rollo, but the broader family of forms points to the same personal-name source.
History
The name appears in English and French surname material as a variant of Roll, Rolfe, Rawle, and related spellings. Historical writers noted that Rolle was less common in France than Rollet, and in England it was sometimes treated as a late French form of the same given name. The surname is also associated with the notable Rolle family in Devon and with Lord Rolle, which helped keep the name visible in British records.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The spelling Rolle was once used in English genealogical and place-name records alongside a whole cluster of near-identical surname forms, showing how fluid medieval name spelling could be.
From the historical record
“ROLL \ forms of the O.Fr. Roul (mod. Raoul, ROLLE I which, however, really represents Ralph or Ralf), lor Rolf, Rodolf, q.v. Rolle is not nearly so common a sur- name in France as the deriv. Rollet. Cp. Rowel I (A.-Fr.-Teut.) ROLLAND, v. Roland. ROLLANDSON, Rolland's orRoLAND's Son: V. Roland.”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)