Rutland
A habitational surname meaning “from Rutland,” the English county name whose deeper origin is uncertain.
The #7,939 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 74,075 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Rutland is a surname taken from the county of Rutland in England. Older writers recorded early forms such as Roteland and Rotland, which suggest an ancient place-name rather than a personal name. The exact origin is uncertain, though one traditional explanation connects it with “root-land,” possibly referring to land cleared of woodland roots or stumps.
History
The surname simply identified someone who came from, or was associated with, Rutland. Because county names often became surnames in medieval England, it could arise independently in different families. Some older genealogical works also note an English noble family, the Manners, later associated with the title of Rutland, but that is a family history detail rather than the surname’s origin.
Origin
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Fun fact
Older etymologists noticed that if the county name had come from red soil, an older form like “Rodeland” might have been expected instead of Roteland/Rotland.
From the historical record
“influence the colour of the river. RUTLAND (Eng. or Scand.) Bel. to Rutland, anc. Roteland, Rotland [Orig. uncertain ; but the prob. meaning is ' root-land ' — M.E. ra<(e, O.N. r6t (for wrot), a root (O.N. rdta = O.E. wrdtan, to root up), as the county was formerly noted for its forests, which are '' now almost…”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)