Rose
A surname that most often began as a nickname or sign-name taken from the rose flower, though in some cases it may have developed as a form of Ross.
The #177 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 2,013 Americans shares it.
Etymology
This surname is generally linked to the flower name rose, ultimately from Latin rosa and Old English rose. In medieval records it could be used as a personal nickname, or as a sign-name from an inn, shop, or house called "the Rose." Some nineteenth-century writers also thought that in certain families it may have been a spelling change or substitute for Ross.
History
The name is well attested in medieval England, with forms such as Nicholas de la Rose appearing in records. It also became familiar through place and sign references, which helped it spread as a hereditary surname. In later centuries Rose remained common in Britain and then in North America, where it is still widely borne.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The rose was so strongly associated with beauty and symbolism that early surname writers sometimes treated Rose as almost self-explanatory, even while admitting its exact path into hereditary use was hard to pin down.
From the historical record
“(Dan.-Norw. skov), a wood] ROSE (A.-Lat.) a pers. name, nickname and sign-name from the flower [O.E. rose \ Lat. rosd\ Richard fil. Rose.^Hund. Rolls. Nicholas de la Rose. — Hund. Rolls. And maister Frank the goldsmith at the Rose. — Pasquin, Night-Cap, A.D. 1 612; Lower, i. 21 1. (Eng.) Roe's (Son) : v. Roe.”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)