Roller
A surname that most likely began as a nickname or occupational name connected with rolling or a roller-like tool or task.
The #4,492 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 39,111 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The name is generally taken from the word for someone who rolls, or for a roller-shaped object or tool. In medieval records cited by older surname scholars, it may sometimes overlap with forms based on Middle English or Anglo-Norman words for a roller, though exact applications are not always clear. Some early explanations also leave open the possibility of an occupational sense, rather than a simple descriptive nickname.
History
Older surname collections note medieval spellings that may belong to this name, but they also caution that the exact original occupation is uncertain in some cases. The surname is found in English-language records and later in the United States, where it remained relatively uncommon. Because the historical evidence is thin, some bearers may descend from different but similar-looking names that later converged in spelling.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
One 19th-century surname scholar suggested that an early bearer named Robert le Kalendar might have had a trade connection with accounts or money-changing, showing how tricky medieval bynames can be to interpret.
From the historical record
“also the engine itself' (BaUey's Dict.,a-vol. edit. 1737). Orig.from cylinder, a roller. Robert le Kalcndar, C R., 6 Edw. L It is possible this entry may con- cern some money-changer, one”
— A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with special American instances