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Roache History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

United States Canada Australia New Zealand

Contemporary Notables Related Stories Motto Citations

Roache History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Ireland
England

Non-Gaelic elements made their first appearance in Irish nomenclature after the Strongbow settlers began to arrive on Irish shores. Although the Irish already had an established a system of hereditary surnames, the Anglo-Normans also brought their own traditions with them when they arrived. The two systems were not extremely conflicting, and eventually drew upon one another. Although local surnames, such as Roache, were not entirely unknown to the Irish, this form of surname was much more popular with the Strongbownians. Local names were taken from the names of a place or a geographical feature where the person lived, held land, or was born. Originally, these place names were prefixed by de, which means from in French. This type of prefix was eventually either made a part of the surname, if the place name began with a vowel, or was eliminated entirely. The local names of these Anglo-Norman invaders first referred to places in Normandy, or more typically England, but eventually for those Strongbownians or their descendents that remained in Ireland, the local names really did begin to refer to local places or geographical features of the island. The Roache family appears to have originally lived in a rocky area or near some notable rock. The surname Roache is derived from the Old French word roche, which means rock. The surname Roache belongs to the class of topographic surnames, which were given to people who resided near physical features such as hills, streams, churches, or types of trees. The Gaelic form of the surname Roache is de Róiste.

Early Origins of the Roache family

The surname Roache was first found in County Limerick (Irish: Luimneach) located in Southwestern Ireland, in the province of Munster, where they were granted lands by Strongbow whom they accompanied into Ireland during the Anglo-Norman invasion of 1172.

This was about the time that "the manor of Tregarrick or Tregorrick alias Treroche, belonged, prior to the Norman Conquest, to an ancient British family thence denominated Treroche, and afterwards De Rupe, or De la Roche. Of this family, Ralph de Rupe held in Cornwall by the tenure of knight service, three knight's fees of land in 1189. Another of this family according to tradition, was an officer in the Irish war under John John, Earl of Moreton and Cornwall; and when the latter became king of England, the former was again employed on a similar expedition, in which he acquitted himself so much to the satisfaction of his royal master, that he was rewarded with the forfeited lands of various rebels. This enabled him to build the castle of Roche in that country in 1220, and to become the head of the distinguished family of De Roche in Ireland." 1

Early History of the Roache family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Roache research. Another 97 words (7 lines of text) covering the years 1172, 1573, 1576, 1588, 1594, 1595, 1600, 1624, 1629, 1635, 1640, 1643, 1660 and 1929 are included under the topic Early Roache History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Roache Spelling Variations

Since church officials and medieval scribes spelt each name as it sounded to them; as a result, a single person could accumulate many different versions of his name within official records. A close examination of the origins of the name Roache revealed the following spelling variations: Roche, Roach, Roache, LaRoche, LaRoach, DeLaRoach, Roack, Roch, Roiche, St.Roche, Rocheland, Rochellan and many more.

Early Notables of the Roache family

Notable amongst the family up to this time was Blessed John Roche (also known as John Neele or Neale), an Irish Catholic martyr, who died in London, England in 1588, he is the patron of sailors, mariners and boatmen, beatified in 1929.David Roche (1573-1635), Viscount Fermoy, was son and heir of Maurice, Viscount Fermoy. David succeeded to the title on his father's death in June 1600. During the rebellion of Hugh O'Neill, second earl of Tyrone [q. v.], Roche signalised himself by his loyalty, and...
Another 84 words (6 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Roache Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Roache Ranking

In the United States, the name Roache is the 15,370^th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 2

Roache migration to the United States +

During the middle of the 19th century, Irish families often experienced extreme poverty and racial discrimination in their own homeland under English rule. Record numbers died of disease and starvation and many others, deciding against such a fate, boarded ships bound for North America. The largest influx of Irish settlers occurred with Great Potato Famine of the late 1840s. Unfortunately, many of those Irish that arrived in Canada or the United States still experienced economic and racial discrimination. Although often maligned, these Irish people were essential to the rapid development of these countries because they provided the cheap labor required for the many canals, roads, railways, and other projects required for strong national infrastructures. Eventually the Irish went on to make contributions in the less backbreaking and more intellectual arenas of commerce, education, and the arts. Research early immigration and passenger lists revealed many early immigrants bearing the name Roache:

Roache Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Edmond Roache, who arrived in Maryland in 1655 3

Roache Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Richard Roache, who landed in Virginia in 1785 3

Roache Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Michael Roache, who arrived in New Orleans, La in 1813 3
Thomas Roache, aged 20, who arrived in New York in 1854 3
John Roache, aged 25, who arrived in New York in 1854 3
Mary Roache, aged 20, who landed in New York in 1854 3

Roache migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Roache Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century

Jeremiah Roache, who arrived in Nova Scotia in 1814
Johanna Roache, who landed in Nova Scotia in 1826
William Roache, who landed in Canada in 1841
Elizabeth Roache, who landed in Nova Scotia in 1843

Roache migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Roache Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mr. Bryan Roache, (Brian, Roach, Roche), (b. 1787), aged 33, Irish labourer who was convicted in Roscommon, Ireland for life for sedition, transported aboard the "Dorothy" on 5th May 1820, arriving in New South Wales, Australia, he died in 1830 4
John Roache, aged 27, a sawyer, who arrived in South Australia in 1853 aboard the ship "Shackamaxon" 5
Catherine Roache, aged 27, a domestic servant, who arrived in South Australia in 1856 aboard the ship "Nimroud"

Roache migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

Roache Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Bartholomew Roache, aged 29, a farm labourer, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Oxford" in 1874
Margaret Roache, aged 24, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Oxford" in 1874
Thomas Roache, aged 3, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Oxford" in 1874
John Roache, aged 1, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Oxford" in 1874
Michael Roache, aged 27, a farm labourer, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Oxford" in 1874

Contemporary Notables of the name Roache (post 1700) +

Almon Victor Roache (b. 1991), American Major League Baseball outfielder with the Milwaukee Brewers
William James Roache (b. 1985), British actor, best known for his role in Coronation Street
Lee Paul Roache (b. 1984), English footballer
Sarah Roache (1950-2009), British actress who appeared in Coronation Street
Linus William Roache (b. 1964), English actor, best known for his roles as Thomas Wayne in Batman Begins
William Patrick Harry "Bill" Roache MBE (b. 1932), British actor, best known for his role as Ken Barlow in the soap opera Coronation Street

The Roache Motto +

The motto was originally a war cry or slogan. Mottoes first began to be shown with arms in the 14th and 15th centuries, but were not in general use until the 17th century. Thus the oldest coats of arms generally do not include a motto. Mottoes seldom form part of the grant of arms: Under most heraldic authorities, a motto is an optional component of the coat of arms, and can be added to or changed at will; many families have chosen not to display a motto.

Motto: Mon Dieu est ma roche
Motto Translation: My God is my rock.

Citations +

Hutchins, Fortescue, The History of Cornwall, from the Earliest Records and Traditions to the Present Time. London: William Penaluna, 1824. Print
"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)
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 12th July 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/dorothy
South Australian Register Thursday 20 January 1853. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) SHACKAMAXON 1853. Retrieved http://www.theshipslist.com/ships/australia/shackamaxon1853.shtml