Rooker History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Ireland

The ancestry of the name Rooker dates from the ancient Anglo-Saxon culture of Britain. It comes from when the family lived in the village of Rock found in the various locations that existed in Worcestershire, Devon and also in Northumberland. The surname also has topographic origins in that it describes the area where the original bearers lived. In this case they lived at some residence near a large boulder or rock face.

Early Origins of the Rooker family

The surname Rooker was first found in Worcestershire where they held a family seat from early times and their first records appeared on the early census rolls taken by the early Kings of Britain to determine the rate of taxation of their subjects.

Early History of the Rooker family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Rooker research. Another 83 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1378, 1379, 1380, 1407 and 1890 are included under the topic Early Rooker History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Rooker Spelling Variations

Spelling variations in names were a common occurrence before English spelling was standardized a few hundred years ago. In the Middle Ages, even the literate spelled their names differently as the English language incorporated elements of French, Latin, and other European languages. Many variations of the name Rooker have been found, including Rock, Rocks, Roch, Rocke, Rocker, Rooker, Rucker and others.

Early Notables of the Rooker family

More information is included under the topic Early Rooker Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Rooker Ranking

In the United States, the name Rooker is the 6,839^th most popular surname with an estimated 4,974 people with that name. 1

Migration of the Rooker family to Ireland

Some of the Rooker family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 103 words (7 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Rooker migration to the United States +

Families began migrating abroad in enormous numbers because of the political and religious discontent in England. Often faced with persecution and starvation in England, the possibilities of the New World attracted many English people. Although the ocean trips took many lives, those who did get to North America were instrumental in building the necessary groundwork for what would become for new powerful nations. Some of the first immigrants to cross the Atlantic and come to North America bore the name Rooker, or a variant listed above:

Rooker Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Edward Rooker, who arrived in Maryland in 1672 2

Rooker Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

James E Rooker, who landed in San Francisco, California in 1850 2
M A Rooker, who arrived in San Francisco, California in 1851 2

Contemporary Notables of the name Rooker (post 1700) +

Michael Rooker (b. 1955), American actor, best known for his roles as Henry in "Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer," and Merle Dixon in "The Walking Dead"
James Phillip "Jim" Rooker (b. 1942), American Major League Baseball player and broadcaster
Thomas NewBerry Rooker (1815-1898), American Printer and Inventor with the New York Tribune
Jim Rooker, American Democratic Party politician, Candidate in primary for U.S. Representative from Pennsylvania 4th District, 2000 3
Edward Rooker (1712-1774), English engraver, draughtsman and actor, father of Angleo Rooker
Michael "Angelo" Rooker (1746-1801), English oil and watercolour landscape painter, illustrator and engraver
Jeffrey William "Jeff" Rooker (b. 1941), Baron Rooker, British politician, Minister of State for Sustainable Food, Farming and Animal Health (2006-2008), Minister of State for Asylum and Immigration (2001-2002)

Citations +

"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)
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, October 20) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html