Find out how popular the last name Rockwood is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Rockwood.

Rockwood, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Rockwood surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Rockwood in America

Rockwood is the 11051st most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Rockwood surname appeared 2,877 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Rockwood.

We can also compare 2010 data for Rockwood to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Rockwood

The surname Rockwood originated in England and dates back to the 13th century. It is a locational name derived from the Old English words "rocc" meaning rock and "wudu" meaning wood, referring to someone who lived near a rocky wooded area.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the Rockwood surname is found in the Feet of Fines for Essex in 1277, where it appears as "Rokewode". The Hundred Rolls of 1273 also mention a "Rokewode" in Oxfordshire.

In the 14th century, the surname is documented in various records, including the Subsidy Rolls of Sussex in 1332, where it appears as "Rokwode". The Poll Tax Returns of Yorkshire in 1379 list a "Johannes Rokwode".

The Rockwood surname was also associated with several place names in England, such as Rockwood in Shropshire and Rockwood in Staffordshire. These place names likely influenced the spelling variations of the surname over time.

Notable individuals with the Rockwood surname throughout history include:

1. Sir Robert Rockwood (1590-1651), an English Royalist during the English Civil War.
2. Caleb Rockwood (1707-1782), an American soldier who fought in the French and Indian War.
3. John Rockwood (1720-1806), an American farmer and Revolutionary War soldier from Massachusetts.
4. Alphonso Rockwood (1833-1911), an American lawyer and politician who served as a member of the Vermont House of Representatives.
5. George Gardner Rockwood (1832-1911), an American Civil War officer and businessman from Massachusetts.

As the centuries passed, the Rockwood surname continued to be found in various regions of England, eventually spreading to other parts of the world through migration and immigration.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Rockwood

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Rockwood.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Rockwood was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Rockwood has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Rockwood was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Rockwood, please contact us.

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