Show ContentsRas History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Researchers have been unable to trace the origin of this Clan to before 1155, as the Clan apparently took no part in the ancient rebellion of the Moray Clans and therefore was not recorded as being transported by Malcolm IV (as many of their neighbors were).

However, the answer may lie with a knight named Ros, of Ros, near Caen, who accompanied William the Conqueror and was given lands in 1069 in Kent, England by the half brother of the Conqueror, Odo, Bishop of Bayeux. Those territories were either enlarged or acquired by a marriage to the heiress Mary Bosco.

The Boscos were a noble Norman family. During that period of unrest many noble families moved northwards in the train of Margaret, King Malcolm Ceanmore's second wife, to escape the ponderous rule of William. Because of the tightly knit family connections of the Rose and the Bosco families, the origin seems quite certain.

Early Origins of the Ras family

The surname Ras was first found in Nairn, in Kilravock County, Scotland. The family settled in this area in 1282, when Hugh Rose of Geddes married Mary, daughter of Sir Andrew de Bosco. Mary Bosco was the heiress of the Bissets of Lovat. Hugh Rose was the son of the Hugh Rose of Geddes who witnessed a Charter in Beauly prior to 1219 and is the first recorded Chief of the Clan. Hugh of Kilravock (the son) was one of the few who did not submit to King Edward I of England in 1296. His son, William, captured Invernairn Castle for Robert the Bruce in 1306. [1]

Early History of the Ras family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Ras research. Another 429 words (31 lines of text) covering the years 1390, 1460, 1474, 1492, 1562, 1598, 1634, 1647, 1675, 1679, 1684, 1689, 1704, 1715, 1720, 1744, 1745, 1758, 1759, 1762, 1771, 1775, 1782, 1790, 1792, 1793, 1795, 1796, 1797, 1800, 1801, 1809, 1816, 1817, 1818, 1827, 1828, 1834, 1835, 1841, 1843, 1845, 1848, 1851, 1855, 1858, 1860, 1863, 1872, 1873 and 1882 are included under the topic Early Ras History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Ras Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Rose, Roose, Ròs (Gaelic) and many more.

Early Notables of the Ras family

Notable among the family at this time was Arthur Rose (Ross) (1634-1704), a Scottish minister, Archbishop of St Andrews (1684-1689), Bishop of Argyll (1675-1679); Alexander Rose (1647-1720) was a Scottish scholar, minister and bishop, Professor of Divinity at the University of Glasgow and Principal of St Mary's College, St Andrews; and William Rose who was Grieve (manager) to Lord President Forbes, on...
Another 61 words (4 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Ras Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Ras Ranking

In Netherlands, the name Ras is the 772nd most popular surname with an estimated 2,479 people with that name. [2]

Ireland Migration of the Ras family to Ireland

Some of the Ras family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt. More information about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.


United States Ras migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Ras Settlers in United States in the 18th Century
  • Michel Ras, who arrived in New York in 1709 [3]

Contemporary Notables of the name Ras (post 1700) +

  • Ras Kass (b. 1973), stage name of John Austin IV, American rapper


  1. Black, George F., The Surnames of Scotland Their Origin, Meaning and History. New York: New York Public Library, 1946. Print. (ISBN 0-87104-172-3)
  2. "Most Common Last Names in Netherlands." Forebears, https://forebears.io/netherlands/surnames
  3. 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)


Houseofnames.com on Facebook