Show ContentsRather History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Early Origins of the Rather family

The surname Rather was first found in Morayshire 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.

Routh is a parish, in the union of Beverley, N. division of the wapentake of Holderness in the East Riding of Yorkshire. 1

Early History of the Rather family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Rather research. Another 118 words (8 lines of text) covering the years 1296, 1485, 1603, 1694, 1695, 1710, 1716, 1733, 1734 and 1768 are included under the topic Early Rather History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Rather Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Randolph, Randolf and others.

Early Notables of the Rather family

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

Rather Ranking

In the United States, the name Rather is the 12,151st most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 2

Ireland Migration of the Rather family to Ireland

Some of the Rather family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 65 words (5 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.


United States Rather migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Rather Settlers in United States in the 18th Century
  • Hans Michael Rather, who landed in Pennsylvania in 1754 3
Rather Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • Albert Rather, aged 1, who landed in America, in 1892
  • Carl Rather, aged 7, who landed in America, in 1892
  • Caroline Rather, aged 22, who immigrated to America, in 1892
  • Franz Rather, aged 3, who landed in America, in 1892
  • Anna Rather, aged 41, who immigrated to the United States, in 1895
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)
Rather Settlers in United States in the 20th Century
  • A. Rather, aged 33, who settled in America from Durham, in 1905
  • Archie Edson Rather, aged 27, who settled in America, in 1915

Contemporary Notables of the name Rather (post 1700) +

  • David Elmer "Bo" Rather (b. 1950), former American football wide receiver
  • Daniel Irvin "Dan" Rather Jr. (b. 1931), American seven-time Peabody Award winning and numerous Emmy Award winning journalist and the former news anchor for the CBS Evening News

Bismarck
  • Herbert Räther (1920-1941), German Matrosengefreiter who served aboard the German Battleship Bismarck during World War II when it was sunk heading to France; he died in the sinking 4


  1. Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
  2. "What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
  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)
  4. Bismarck & Tirpitz Class - Crew List Bismarck. (Retrieved 2018, February 06). Retrieved from https://www.bismarck-class.dk/bismarck/crew/bismarck_crew.html#crew_details


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