Show ContentsRowberry History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The Rowberry surname is a habitational name, taken on from any of various places so named: for example, Rubery in Herefordshire and Worcestershire. The place names come from the Old English "ruh," meaning "rough," or "overgrown," and "beorg," or "hill."

Early Origins of the Rowberry family

The surname RowBerry was first found in Devon at Roborough, a village in the South Hams, that dates back to at least the Domesday Book where it was listed as Raweberge and literally meant "rough hill," having been derived from the Old English ruh + beorg 1 At the time of the Domesday Book, Roborough, was held by a steward of the Bishop Coutances and was part of the Roborough hundred. It held enough land for 14 ploughs and had 3 borders with 8 ploughs. It also had 16 acres of meadow, 20 acres of pasture and 20 acres of woodland. 2 Roborough, Torridge is a small village in North Devon. Roborough Castle is an Iron Age enclosure or hill fort situated close to Lynton.

Early History of the Rowberry family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Rowberry research. Another 132 words (9 lines of text) covering the years 1327 and 1938 are included under the topic Early Rowberry History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Rowberry Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Roborough, Rowberry, Rowbrey, Robury, Rubery, Rubbery, Robbery, Robery, Ruberry, Rubra, Rowborrow, Rowbro and many more.

Early Notables of the Rowberry family

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


United States RowBerry migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Rowberry Settlers in United States in the 20th Century
  • William Rowberry, aged 26, originally from Worcester, England, who arrived in New York in 1909 aboard the ship "Arabic" from Liverpool, England 3
  • Leonard Stanley Rowberry, aged 27, originally from Wolverhamton, England, who arrived in New York in 1921 aboard the ship "Olympic" from Southampton, England 3
  • Ethel Rowberry, aged 28, originally from Wolverhampton, England, who arrived in New York in 1921 aboard the ship "Olympic" from Southampton, England 3
  • Arthur Rowberry, aged 37, who arrived in New York in 1923 aboard the ship "Laconia" from Liverpool, England 3

Contemporary Notables of the name RowBerry (post 1700) +

  • Linda Michelle Rowberry (b. 1981), birth name of Linda Strawberry, American singer
  • David Eric "Dave" Rowberry (1940-2003), English piano and organ player, best known as a member of "The Animals"
  • Anna Catherine Rowberry (b. 1976), birth name of Anna Catherine Stanley MNZM, New Zealand netballer who captained the national team to win the 2003 Netball World Championships, a tow-time gold and three-time silver medalist


  1. Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
  2. Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
  3. Ellis Island Search retrieved 15th November 2022. Retrieved from https://heritage.statueofliberty.org/passenger-result


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