Roque History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
France

Languedoc is the region of ancient France from which the name Roque was derived. It comes from when the family lived in La Rocque, in l'Herault, Languedoc.

Early Origins of the Roque family

The surname Roque was first found in Languedoc where the family has held a family seat since ancient times.

Early History of the Roque family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Roque research. Another 430 words (31 lines of text) covering the years 1090, 1112, 1132, 1280, 1303, 1372, 1500, 1550, 1581, 1582 and 1620 are included under the topic Early Roque History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Roque Spelling Variations

Changes of spelling have occurred in most surnames. The earliest explanation is that during the early development of the French language, names were not yet fixed in spelling. Usually a person gave his version of his name, phonetically, to a scribe, a priest, or a recorder. This depended on accent, and local accents frequently changed the spelling of a name. Some variables were adopted by different branches of the family name. Hence, there are some spelling variations of the name Roque, including La Roque, Roque, De Roque, du Roque, Rocque, La Rocque, du Rocque, Larocque, Laroc, Roquebrune and many more.

Early Notables of the Roque family

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

Roque Ranking

In the United States, the name Roque is the 4,742^nd most popular surname with an estimated 7,461 people with that name. 1 However, in France, the name Roque is ranked the 2,857^th most popular surname with an estimated 2,000 - 2,500 people with that name. 2

Roque migration to the United States +

In the 1700s, land incentives were finally given out by France to 2,000 migrants. Early marriage was encouraged in New France, and youths of 18 took fourteen-year-old girls for their wives. The fur trade was developed and attracted migrants, both noble and commoner from France. 15,000 explorers left Montreal in the late 17th and 18th centuries, leaving French names scattered across the continent. The search for the Northwest passage continued. Migration from France to New France or Quebec, as it was now more popularly called, continued until 1759. By 1675, there were 7000 French in Quebec. By the same year the Acadian presence in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island had reached 500. In the treaty of Utrecht, Acadia were ceded by France to Britain in 1713. In 1755, 10,000 French Acadians refused to take an oath of allegiance to England and were deported. They found refuge in Louisiana. Meanwhile, in Quebec, the French race flourished, founding in Lower Canada, one of the two great solitudes which became Canada. Many of this distinguished family name Roque were prominent in social, cultural, religious and political affairs in France and New France. Amongst the settlers in North America with this distinguished name Roque were

Roque Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Ignacio Perez Roque, who settled in Louisiana in 1778

Roque Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Francisco Roque, who arrived in New Spain in 1835 3

Roque 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. 4

Roque Settlers in West Indies in the 19th Century

Juan Roque, who landed in Cuba in 1838 3

Contemporary Notables of the name Roque (post 1700) +

Felix Roque, Cuban-born, American physician and politician, Mayor of West New York (2011-)
Nicolas Roque, French Brigadier General during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars from 1789 to 1815 5
Jean-Louis de La Roque, French Brigadier General during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars from 1789 to 1815 6
Jean Alexandre Durand de La Roque, French Divisional General during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars from 1789 to 1815 7
Hélio José Lopes Roque (b. 1985), Portuguese footballer
Aloísio Roque Opperman (1936-2014), Brazilian Roman Catholic bishop, Archbishop of Uberaba
Antonio Roque Gobbo (b. 1935), Brazilian writer
Roque R. Ablan Jr., Philippine politician who represented the 1st Legislative district of Ilocos Norte for eight terms
Roque Antonio Adames Rodríguez (1928-2009), Roman Catholic bishop in the Dominican Republic
Roque Raúl Alfaro (b. 1956), Argentine football manager and former player

The Roque 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: Deo vero et honori
Motto Translation: God and the honor

Citations +

"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
http://www.journaldesfemmes.com/nom-de-famille/nom/
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)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies
Generals Who Served in the French Army during the Period 1789-1815. (Retrieved 2015, August 27) Nicolas Roque. Retrieved from http://www.napoleon-series.org/research/c_frenchgenerals.html
Generals Who Served in the French Army during the Period 1789-1815. (Retrieved 2015, March 30) Jean-Louis Roque. Retrieved from http://www.napoleon-series.org/research/c_frenchgenerals.html
Generals Who Served in the French Army during the Period 1789-1815. (Retrieved 2015, March 30) Jean Roque. Retrieved from http://www.napoleon-series.org/research/c_frenchgenerals.html