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From the historical and enchanting region of France emerged a multitude of noble families, including the distinguished Rossouw family. Originally, the French people were known only by a single name. The process by which hereditary surnames were adopted in France is extremely interesting. Surnames evolved during the Middle Ages when people began to assume an extra name to avoid confusion and to further identify themselves. Often they adopted names that were derived from nicknames. Nickname surnames were derived from an eke-name, or added name. They usually reflected the physical characteristics or attributes of the first person that used the name. The name Rossouw is a nickname type of surname for a person with red hair or a ruddy complexion. Tracing the origin of the name further, we found the name Rossouw was originally derived from the Old French word "rous," meaning "red."
The surname Rossouw was first found in Burgundy (French: Bourgogne), an administrative and historical region of east-central France, where the family held a family seat since ancient times.
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Rossouw research. Another 265 words (19 lines of text) covering the years 1626, 1644, 1662, 1671, 1694, 1699, 1712, 1728, 1741, 1778 and 1871 are included under the topic Early Rossouw History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Spelling variations of this family name include: Rousseau, Rouseau, Rosseau, Rouseault, Roussault, Rouseult, Rosault, Rosseault, Rousult, DeRousseau, Derousseau, de Rousseau, De Rousault, de Rousault, Derousult, DeRouseau, de Rouseau, De Rouseau, LeRousseau, le Rousseau, Lerousseau, Aurousseau and many more.
Notable amongst the family at this time was Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778), French philosopher, writer, and composer, his political philosophy influenced the French Revolution, best known for his Discourse on the Origin of Inequality and On the Social Contract; Jacques Rousseau (1626-1694)...
Another 41 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Rossouw Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
In South Africa, the name Rossouw is the 229th most popular surname with an estimated 29,419 people with that name. 1
Some of the first settlers of this family name or some of its variants were: Pierre Rousseau aged 34 arrived in New Orleans in 1823; Mr. Rousseau arrived in Carolina in 1679 with his wife and 6 children; John Peter Rousseau arrived in Philidelphia in 1803.