Wishlist
Menu
Cart
HouseofNames
Wishlist
Cart

Show ContentsRowlandson History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms
Product

Family Crest Download (JPG) Heritage Series - 600 DPI

4.9 Average Rating

The Rowlandson surname comes from the Norman personal name Rol(l)an, which derives from the Germanic elements "hrod," meaning "renown," and "land," meaning "territory." Much of the Medieval popularity of this name was as a result of Roland (d. 778), a Frankish military leader under Charlemagne who was defeated at the Battle of Roncevaux Pass in 778. The Song of Roland thought to have been written between 1040 and 1115 is an epic poem based the battle.

Early Origins of the Rowlandson family

The surname Rowlandson was first found in Bedfordshire (Old English: Bedanfordscir), located in Southeast-central England, formerly part of the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Mercia, where a record in the Domesday Book of 1086 lists Rolland as being a landholder in Beeston (Bistone). 1

They were in neighboring Huntingdonshire from the early 12th century. The Domesday Book also lists Ralunt (Rowland) in Derbyshire.

One source states "A baptismal name as in 'the son of Roland.' Roland or Orlando was the nephew of the great Charles, who fell at Roncesvalles." 2 This latter reference is derived from The Miscellaneous Prose Works of Sir Walter Scott (Vol IV) and we shall now provide it in a more complete context. "No reader can have forgotten, that when the decisive battle of Hastings commenced, a Norman minstrel, Taillefer, advanced on horseback before the invading host and gave the signal for onset, by singing the 'Song of Roland,' that renowned nephew of Charlamagne, of whom the chivalry of Charles the Great in the pass of Roncesvalles, has given rise to such clouds of romantic fiction, that its very name has been for ever associated with it. The remarkable passage has been often quoted from the 'Brut of Wace,' an Anglo-Norman metrical chronicle. 'Taillefer, who sung both well and loud, Came mounted on a courser proud; Before the Duke the minstrel sprung. And loud of Charles and Roland sung, Of Oliver and champions mo, Who died at fatal Roncevaux.'"

Early History of the Rowlandson family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Rowlandson research. Another 121 words (9 lines of text) covering the years 1196, 1218, 1221, 1303, 1327, 1500, 1551, 1555, 1565, 1569, 1586, 1599, 1601, 1602, 1606, 1616, 1620, 1621, 1637, 1655, 1660, 1711 and 1723 are included under the topic Early Rowlandson History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Rowlandson Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Rolland, Roland, Rowland, Rowlands, Rowlandson, Rolan and many more.

Early Notables of the Rowlandson family

Outstanding amongst the family at this time was

  • Mary Rowlandson, née White (c. 1637-1711), was a colonial American woman who was captured by Native Americans during King Philip's War and held for 11 weeks before being ransomed. She wrote a book abo...

Ireland Migration of the Rowlandson family to Ireland

Some of the Rowlandson 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 Rowlandson migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Rowlandson Settlers in United States in the 17th Century
  • Thomas Rowlandson, who arrived in Ipswich, Massachusetts in 1638 3
  • Joseph Rowlandson, who landed in Lancaster, Massachusetts in 1652 3

Contemporary Notables of the name Rowlandson (post 1700) +

  • Thomas Rowlandson (1756-1827), English artist and caricaturist, born in the Old Jewry
  • Alfred Cecil Rowlandson (1865-1922), Australian publisher
  1. Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
  2. Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
  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