ROSS Surname Meaning & Origin:

The Ross surname has Gaelic origins and, depending upon the origin of the family, could have several different meanings.

1) From ros, a peninsula, isthmus, or promontory signifying someone who lived on a headland.

2) From rhos, Welsh for "moor or bog"; signifying someone who lived near a moor.

3) From rose and rosh, signifying a valley or dale between hills.

4)A descriptive name from the Middle English rous, meaning "red-haired."


5) From the district of Ross, in Scotland.

Ross is the 89th most popular surname in the United States.

Surname Origin:

English, Scottish

Alternate Surname Spellings:

ROSSE

Genealogy Resources for the Surname ROSS:

100 Most Common U.S. Surnames & Their Meanings
Smith, Johnson, Williams, Jones, Brown... Are you one of the millions of Americans sporting one of these top 100 common last names from the 2000 census?

ROSS Family Genealogy Forum
Search this popular genealogy forum for the Ross surname to find others who might be researching your ancestors, or post your own Ross query.

FamilySearch - ROSS Genealogy
Find records, queries, and lineage-linked family trees posted for the Ross surname and its variations.

ROSS Surname & Family Mailing Lists
RootsWeb hosts several free mailing lists for researchers of the Ross surname.

Cousin Connect - ROSS Genealogy Queries
Read or post genealogy queries for the surname Ross, and sign up for free notification when new Ross queries are added.

DistantCousin.com - ROSS Genealogy & Family History
Free databases and genealogy links for the last name Sanders.

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References: Surname Meanings & Origins

Cottle, Basil. Penguin Dictionary of Surnames. Baltimore, MD: Penguin Books, 1967.

Menk, Lars. A Dictionary of German Jewish Surnames. Avotaynu, 2005.

Beider, Alexander. A Dictionary of Jewish Surnames from Galicia. Avotaynu, 2004.

Hanks, Patrick and Flavia Hodges. A Dictionary of Surnames. Oxford University Press, 1989.

Hanks, Patrick. Dictionary of American Family Names. Oxford University Press, 2003.

Smith, Elsdon C. American Surnames. Genealogical Publishing Company, 1997.

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