Ross
A surname with several independent origins, most often from a promontory or peninsula, a place-name in Normandy or Britain, or the Scottish region of Ross.
The #98 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 1,346 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Ross has multiple roots. In Gaelic, ros can mean a promontory, peninsula, or sometimes a wood, which fits the common Scottish and Irish place-name origin. Separate lines of descent also come from Norman French place-names such as Ros in Normandy, and from British/Welsh local names in some families.
History
Medieval records show the surname appearing in Norman and English local forms such as de Ros, while Scottish use is strongly tied to the region of Ross in northern Scotland. Later surname writers also connected some Ross families with place-names and topographical features rather than a single ancestry. Because the name arose independently in several places, bearers of Ross are not all descended from one original family.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The name is so common that 19th-century writers already noted it could represent different origins in different families, not one single clan or line.
From the historical record
“ROSS (Celt.) Bel. to Ross ; or Dweller at a Promontory or Peninsula [Gael, ros — It. ros, M.Ir. roijfN.Irel., a promontory or peninsula; S.Irel., a wood): cp. Wei. rhos, a moor, and Corn, rds, a heath] An ros Muileach (the promontory of Mull).”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)