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Rockwell History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

Contemporary Notables Historic Events Related Stories Suggested Reading Citations

Rockwell History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

The history of the Rockwell family name begins after the Norman Conquest of 1066. They lived in either of two locations, one in Buckinghamshire, and one in Somerset. The places were originally called Rockholt, from the elements hroc, meaning rock, and holt meaning wood. However, another source claims the name was derived from a "dweller at, or near, the stony spring or stream." 1

Early Origins of the Rockwell family

The surname Rockwell was first found in either Buckinghamshire or Somerset where this surname was originally a habitation surname. 2 Today, Rockwell Green is a village near Wellington, in the Taunton Deane district of Somerset and Rockwell End is a hamlet in Buckinghamshire which has been used as a film location for two of the Midsomer Murders series.

Early History of the Rockwell family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Rockwell research. Another 100 words (7 lines of text) covering the years 1300 and 1324 are included under the topic Early Rockwell History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Rockwell Spelling Variations

Anglo-Norman names tend to be marked by an enormous number of spelling variations. This is largely due to the fact that Old and Middle English lacked any spelling rules when Norman French was introduced in the 11th century. The languages of the English courts at that time were French and Latin. These various languages mixed quite freely in the evolving social milieu. The final element of this mix is that medieval scribes spelled words according to their sounds rather than any definite rules, so a name was often spelled in as many different ways as the number of documents it appeared in. The name was spelled Rockwell, Rokelle, Rockewell, Rokele, Rokewell and others.

Early Notables of the Rockwell family

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

Rockwell Ranking

In the United States, the name Rockwell is the 2,465^th most popular surname with an estimated 12,435 people with that name. 3

Rockwell migration to the United States +

Because of the political and religious discontent in England, families began to migrate abroad in enormous numbers. Faced with persecution and starvation at home, the open frontiers and generally less oppressive social environment of the New World seemed tantalizing indeed to many English people. The trip was difficult, and not all made it unscathed, but many of those who did get to Canada and the United States made important contributions to the young nations in which they settled. Some of the first North American settlers with Rockwell name or one of its variants:

Rockwell Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Ruth Rockwell, who settled in Nantasket in 1630
William Rockwell, aged 39, who arrived in Dorchester, Massachusetts in 1630 aboard the ship "Mary & John" 4
Mrs. Susan Rockwell, (Capen), aged 28, who arrived in Dorchester, Massachusetts in1630 aboard the ship "Mary & John" 5
Miss Joan Rockwell, aged 5, who arrived in Dorchester, Massachusetts in1630 aboard the ship "Mary & John" 5
Mr. John Rockwell, aged 2, who arrived in Dorchester, Massachusetts in1630 aboard the ship "Mary & John" 5
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Rockwell Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

John Rockwell, who arrived in Virginia in 1719 4

Rockwell Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

C. W. Rockwell, who arrived in New York in 1823
Edward S Rockwell, who arrived in San Francisco, California in 1850 4
Edward Rockwell, who arrived in San Francisco in 1850
George Rockwell, who landed in San Francisco, California in 1851 4

Rockwell migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Rockwell Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century

Asahel Rockwell, who landed in Canada in 1828

Contemporary Notables of the name Rockwell (post 1700) +

Norman Percevel Rockwell (1894-1978), famed American Artist and Painter, most famous for the cover illustrations for The Saturday Evening Post for more over 40 years, recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom
Julius Rockwell (1805-1888), American Republican politician, Speaker of the Massachusetts State House of Representatives, 1835-37, 1858;U.S. Senator from Massachusetts, 1854-55; Candidate for Governor of Massachusetts, 1855 6
Rachel Rockwell (1969-2018), American theater director, choreographer and performer from Columbia, Missouri
Winthrop E. Rockwell, American politician 6
William Rockwell, American Republican politician, Delegate to Republican National Convention from Connecticut, 1896 (alternate), 1900 6
William W. Rockwell, American Republican politician, Member of New York State Assembly from Saratoga County 2nd District, 1849; Delegate to Republican National Convention from New York, 1868; Member of New York State Senate, 1878-81 (16th District 1878-79, 19th District 1880-81) 6
Willard F. Rockwell, American Republican politician, Alternate Delegate to Republican National Convention from Pennsylvania, 1960 6
Washington L. Rockwell, American politician, Member of New York State Assembly from Monroe County 3rd District, 1877 6
Thomas Rockwell, American politician, Candidate for U.S. Representative from New York 21st District, 1964 6
Theron Rockwell, American politician, Member of Connecticut State Senate 15th District, 1834-35; Member of Connecticut State House of Representatives from Colebrook, 1838 6
... (Another 51 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Historic Events for the Rockwell family +

Grover Shoe factory

Mr. David W. Rockwell, American engineer at the Grover Shoe factory in Brockton, Massachusetts on 20th March 1905 when the boiler exploded and collapsed the wooden building; he died 7
Mrs. Rockwell, American employee of the Grover Shoe factory in Brockton, Massachusetts on 20th March 1905 when the boiler exploded and collapsed the wooden building; she survived 7

Citations +

Smith, Eldson Coles, New Dictionary of American Family Names New York: Harper & Row, 1956. Print
Hanks, Patricia and Flavia Hodges, A Dictionary of Surnames. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1988. Print. (ISBN 0-19-211592-8)
"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)
Pilgrim Ship's of 1600's Retrieved January 6th 2023, retrieved from https://www.packrat-pro.com/ships/shiplist.htm
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2016, June 10) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
California Digital Newspaper from 21st March 1905 (retrieved on 5th August 2021.) Retrieved from https://cdnc.ucr.edu/?a=d&d=SFC19050321.2.19&e=-------en--20--1--txt-txIN--------1