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

Rossiter, 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 Rossiter surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Rossiter in America

Rossiter is the 9770th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Rossiter surname appeared 3,316 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 Rossiter.

We can also compare 2010 data for Rossiter 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 Rossiter

The surname Rossiter has its origins in England and traces back to the late 12th century. It is believed to have derived from the Old French word "rossiere," which referred to a person who bred or cared for horses. This occupation was highly regarded at the time, as horses were crucial for transportation, agriculture, and warfare.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Rossiter can be found in the Pipe Rolls of Worcestershire from 1195, where a person named Robert le Rossiter is mentioned. This document suggests that the surname was already in use by the end of the 12th century.

In the 13th century, variations of the name, such as Rosser and Rossour, appeared in various records across England. For instance, a Nicholas Rosser was listed in the Patent Rolls of 1272, while a John Rossour was mentioned in the Assize Rolls of Staffordshire in 1292.

The Rossiter name has been associated with several notable individuals throughout history. One of the earliest was Sir Edward Rossiter (1618-1692), an English colonist who served as the Governor of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations from 1686 to 1687.

Another prominent figure was Thomas Prichard Rossiter (1817-1871), an American painter known for his landscapes and genre scenes. His works were highly acclaimed and are now held in various museums across the United States.

In the literary world, Arthur Rossiter (1866-1943) was a British author and playwright who wrote several novels and plays, including "The Damask Robe" and "The Widow's Cruse."

Moving into the 20th century, John Leonard Rossiter (1899-1983) was a British civil servant who served as the Governor of Bermuda from 1949 to 1954, and later as the Governor of Cyprus from 1954 to 1957.

More recently, James Robert Rossiter (born 1970) is an American computer scientist and professor at the University of Michigan, known for his contributions to the field of robotics and control systems.

While the Rossiter surname has its roots in England, it has since spread across the globe, with families bearing this name found in various countries, including the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Rossiter

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

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 Rossiter 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 Rossiter 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 Rossiter was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!