Rossi History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Italy
Scotland

The surname Rossi is a topographic surname, which was given to a person who resided near a physical feature such as a hill, stream, church, or type of tree. Habitation names form the other broad category of surnames that were derived from place-names. They were derived from pre-existing names for towns, villages, parishes, or farmsteads. Other local names are derived from the names of houses, manors, estates, regions, and entire counties. As a general rule, the greater the distance between an individual and their homeland, the larger the territory they were named after. For example, a person who only moved to another parish would be known by the name of their original village, while people who migrated to a different country were often known by the name of a region or country from which they came. In Scotland, the island of Rousay is located on the Orkney Islands and dates back to Neolithic times. The island's spelling evolved from "Rollesay" in the 14th century and "Rowsay" in the 16th century. But before migrating to Scotland, the Rossi family lived in Normandy at the village of Rosay.

Early Origins of the Rossi family

The surname Rossi was first found in Norfolk, where they were Lords of the Manor of Waterden and West Rudham where Lambert de Rossei was an under tenant to Earl Warren. They were originally from Rosay, Seine-Inf, arrondisement of Dieppe, in the canton of Bellencombre. Descended was Lambert's son, Walkelin who held Castle Acres, and then succeeded by Ralph de Rosei about 1270. They seemingly moved north to Fife where they were granted the lands of Rossie near Montrose.

Rossie or Inch-Brayock, is an island, in the parish of Craig, county of Forfar. 1

Early History of the Rossi family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Rossi research. Another 125 words (9 lines of text) covering the years 1219, 1245 and 1296 are included under the topic Early Rossi History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Rossi Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Rossi, Rossie, Rossei, Rossy, Rossey, Rosse and others.

Early Notables of the Rossi family

Notable among the family at this time was

Bernard, 1st Lord Rossie

Rossi World Ranking

In the United States, the name Rossi is the 1,594^th most popular surname with an estimated 19,896 people with that name. 2 However, in France, the name Rossi is ranked the 215^th most popular surname with an estimated 16,259 people with that name. 3 And in South America, the name Rossi is the 30^th popular surname with an estimated 117 people with that name. 4

Rossi migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Rossi Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Louis Rossi, who arrived in New York in 1823 5
M Rossi, aged 45, who landed in Key West, Fla in 1839 5
Tomas Rossi, aged 30, who arrived in New Orleans, La in 1840 5
Andrew, Alexander, John and Otto Rossi, who settled in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania between 1798 and 1849
Alberto Rossi, aged 31, who immigrated to the United States, in 1892
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Rossi Settlers in United States in the 20th Century

Adelina Rossi, aged 16, who landed in America from Melizzeno, in 1902
Joseph Rossi, who landed in Arkansas in 1903 5
Albina Rossi, aged 15, who landed in America, in 1903
Adolfo Rossi, aged 48, who immigrated to the United States from Rome, in 1904
A. Rossi, aged 24, who landed in America from Italy, in 1904

Contemporary Notables of the name Rossi (post 1700) +

Barbara Rossi (1940-2023), American artist, one of the original Chicago Imagists
Len Rossi (1929-2020), born Len Rositano, an American professional wrestler, 14-time NWA World Tag Team Champion, member of both the NWA Hall of Fame (2016) and the Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame (2004)
Steve Rossi (1932-2014), born Joseph Charles Tafarella, an American stand-up comedian and actor
Marc A. Rossi, American politician, Representative from Virginia 10th District, 2000 6
Lynda Rossi, American Democratic Party politician, Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Michigan, 2004 6
Joseph A. Rossi, American Republican politician, Candidate for Michigan State Senate 38th District, 1978 6
George Rossi, American Republican politician, Candidate for New Jersey State House of Assembly 33rd District, 1975 6
Ernest F. Rossi, American politician, Candidate for Circuit Judge in Michigan 3rd Circuit, 1959 6
Emil P. Rossi, American Libertarian politician, Candidate for U.S. Representative from California 1st District, 1996, 1998, 2000 6
Deborah L. Rossi, American Democratic Party politician, Delegate to Democratic National Convention from California, 1972 6
... (Another 25 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Historic Events for the Rossi family +

Hillcrest Coal Mine

Mr. Luigi Rossi (1888-1914), Italian Bucker from Montonate, Varese, Italy who worked in the Hillcrest Coal Mine, Alberta, Canada and died in the mine collapse 7

Citations +

Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of Scotland. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
"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/
"List of most common surnames in South America." Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_most_common_surnames_in_South_America
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)
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2016, March 9) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
List Of Miners - Hillcrest Mine Disaster Data. (Retrieved 2014, June 24) . Retrieved from http://www.hillcrestminedisaster.com/data/index.php?title=List_Of_Miners