Contents [hide]

Rolph History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

United States Australia New Zealand West Indies

Contemporary Notables Related Stories Motto Citations

Rolph History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Germany
Scotland

The earliest forms of hereditary surnames in Scotland were the patronymic surnames, which are derived from the father's given name, and metronymic surnames, which are derived from the mother's given name. Scottish patronymic names emerged as early as the mid-9th century. The patronyms were derived from a variety of given names that were of many different origins. The surname Rolph is derived from the Old Norse given name Randolph, which itself comes from the Old German words, rat, meaning counsel, and wolf, meaning wolf.

Early Origins of the Rolph family

The surname Rolph was first found in the town of Nairn in Nairnshire (Gaelic: Siorrachd Inbhir Narann) in northern Scotland, today part of the Council Area of Highland, where they are thought to have arrived well before the invasion of Britain of Duke William of Normandy in 1066 A.D.

One of the first records of the family was Ralph (died 1144), Bishop of Orkney, whose name usually appears as Ralph Nowell, a native of York, where he became a priest. "York writers assert that, apparently about 1110, Ralph was elected (by men of the Orkneys) to the bishopric of the islands in the church of St. Peter at York." 1

Early History of the Rolph family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Rolph research. Another 117 words (8 lines of text) covering the years 1205 and 1452 are included under the topic Early Rolph History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Rolph Spelling Variations

The frequent translations of surnames from and into Gaelic, accounts for the multitude of spelling variations found in Scottish surnames. Furthermore, the spelling of surnames was rarely consistent because medieval scribes and church officials recorded names as they sounded, rather than adhering to any specific spelling rules. The different versions of a surname, such as the inclusion of the patronymic prefix "Mac", frequently indicated a religious or Clan affiliation, or even a division of the family. Moreover, a large number of foreign names were brought into Scotland, accelerating accentuating the alterations to various surnames. The name Rolph has also been spelled Ralph, Rolph, Rolfe and others.

Early Notables of the Rolph family

Another 38 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Rolph Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Rolph Ranking

In the United States, the name Rolph is the 17,165^th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 2

Rolph migration to the United States +

Some of the first North American settlers with Rolph name or one of its variants:

Rolph Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

John Rolph, who landed in Virginia in 1658 3
Danll Rolph, who landed in Virginia in 1665 3

Rolph Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

James Rolph, who arrived in Virginia in 1705 3
William Rolph, who settled in Maryland in 1774
Thomas Rolph, who settled in Pennsylvania in 1774

Rolph Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Sophia Rolph, aged 28, who arrived in New York in 1849 3

Rolph migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Rolph Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mr. William Rolph, (b. 1793), aged 22, English convict who was convicted in St Albans, Hertfordshire, England for life, transported aboard the "Fanny" on 25th August 1815, arriving in New South Wales, Australia, he died in 1876 4
George Rolph, English convict from Essex, who was transported aboard the "Arab" on February 22, 1834, settling in Van Diemen's Land, Australia 5
Mr. James Rolph, English convict who was convicted in Essex, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Charles Kerr" on 6th June 1837, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 6
Mr. Samuel Rolph, British Convict who was convicted in Essex, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Coromandel" on 25th June 1838, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 7
John Rolph, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Fairlee" in 1840 8

Rolph Settlers in Australia in the 20th Century

"Mrs. Ann Rolph, (b. 1791), aged 37, English servant who was convicted in Middlesex, England for life for stealing, transported aboard the ""Competitor"" on 9th June 1828, arriving in New South Wales, Australia, mother of Mary Ann Smith same ship" 9

Rolph migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

Rolph Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Mr. Jacob Rolph, Australian settler travelling from Sydney aboard the ship "Earl Durham" arriving in Bay of Islands, North Island, New Zealand in 1841 10

Rolph migration to West Indies +

The British first settled the British West Indies around 1604. They made many attempts but failed in some to establish settlements on the Islands including Saint Lucia and Grenada. By 1627 they had managed to establish settlements on St. Kitts (St. Christopher) and Barbados, but by 1641 the Spanish had moved in and destroyed some of these including those at Providence Island. The British continued to expand the settlements including setting the First Federation in the British West Indies by 1674; some of the islands include Barbados, Bermuda, Cayman Island, Turks and Caicos, Jamaica and Belize then known as British Honduras. By the 1960's many of the islands became independent after the West Indies Federation which existed from 1958 to 1962 failed due to internal political conflicts. After this a number of Eastern Caribbean islands formed a free association. 11

Rolph Settlers in West Indies in the 17th Century

William Rolph, who settled in Barbados in 1690

Contemporary Notables of the name Rolph (post 1700) +

John Rolph, American lawyer and officer in the United States Navy's Judge Advocate General corps
Jessica Rolph (b. 1974), American businesswoman, CEO and co-founder of Lovevery
Thomas Rolph (1885-1956), American Republican politician, U.S. Representative from California 4th District, 1941-45; Defeated, 1944 12
Mrs. James Rolph Jr., American Republican politician, Alternate Delegate to Republican National Convention from California, 1932 12
James Rolph Jr. (1869-1934), American Republican politician, Mayor of San Francisco, California, 1912-31; Delegate to Republican National Convention from California, 1920, 1928, 1932; Governor of California, 1931-34 12
George Rolph, American Republican politician, Alternate Delegate to Republican National Convention from California, 1928 12
Thomas Lawford Rolph (1840-1876), Canadian-born cricketer and lawyer, son of George Rolph
Sue Rolph (b. 1978), British five-time gold, silx-time silver and sixteen-time bronze medalist swimmer
John Rolph (1793-1870), Canadian physician, lawyer, and politician, Member of the Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada for Middlesex County (1824-1830)
George Rolph (1794-1875), English-born, Canadian lawyer and politician who represented Halton County in the Parliament of Upper Canada
... (Another 4 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

The Rolph Motto +

The motto was originally a war cry or slogan. Mottoes first began to be shown with arms in the 14th and 15th centuries, but were not in general use until the 17th century. Thus the oldest coats of arms generally do not include a motto. Mottoes seldom form part of the grant of arms: Under most heraldic authorities, a motto is an optional component of the coat of arms, and can be added to or changed at will; many families have chosen not to display a motto.

Motto: Cresco crescendeo
Motto Translation: I increase by increasing.

Citations +

Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. Print
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 28th September 2022). https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/fairlie
State Library of Queensland. (Retrieved 2015, January 8) Arab voyage to Van Diemen's Land, Australia in 1834 with 230 passengers. Retrieved from http://www.convictrecords.com.au/ships/arab/1834
Convict Records of Australia. Retrieved 1st February 2021 from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/charles-kerr
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 19th March 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/coromandel
State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) FAIRLIE/FAIRLEE 1840. Retrieved from http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1840Fairlie.htm
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 8th March 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/competitor
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 17th October 2018). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2016, January 12) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html