The name Roos is part of the ancient legacy of the early Norman inhabitants that arrived in England after the Norman Conquest of 1066. Roos was a Norman name used for a person who had the given name Andrew, which is derived from Anrias. The name may also be a nickname derived from the Old English word rouse, which means red or red-haired. [1]
The surname Roos was first found in Yorkshire, although there seems to be two distinct origins of this surname. This history discusses in detail the English/Scottish borders origin of the name. For this origin, the first reference of the name was Godfrey de Ross, a vassal of the de Morevilles, obtaining from Richard de Moreville the lands of Stewarton in Cuningham. [2]
This family of Ros or Ross came from Yorkshire. James de Ros, Reginald de Ross and Peter de Ross appear about the same time also as vassals of Richard de Moreville. These people are also listed as witnesses in his charters. The aforementioned Godfrey de Ross witnessed de Moreville's charter of Gillemoristun with Edulfus filius Utredi c. 1189. A few years later in 1205, Sir Godfrey de Rose, Arthur de Ross and Fergus de Rosse witnessed an agreement between the burgesses of Irvine and Brice of Eglunstone.
Robert de Ros or Rosse (d. 1227), "baron, was the son of Everard de Ros of Helmsley or Hamlake in the North Riding of Yorkshire. The family also held lands in Holderness, where was situated Ros, to which they gave, or from which they received, their name. Robert succeeded to his father's lands in 1191, paying a relief of one thousand marks. In 1195 he was bailiff and castellan of Bonneville-sur-Touques in Lower Normandy, near which the Norman lands of the family lay." [3]
"The manor [at Roos, Yorkshire] was from the reign of Henry I. the seat and property of the noble family of Roos, one of whose barons had the glory of leading the second division of the English army at the battle of Cressy. The site is still visible of the castle of the former barons; and in part of the old moat have been lately found a misericorde dagger and some amber beads. The place confers the original title on the present family of De Ros." [4]
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Roos research. Another 169 words (12 lines of text) covering the years 1296, 1363, 1372, 1390, 1372, 1370, 1414, 1394, 1413, 1396, 1403, 1404, 1403, 1413, 1455, 1508 and are included under the topic Early Roos History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
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 Ros, Roose, Ross, Ruse and others.
Notable amongst bearers of this family name during their early history was The 5th Earl of Ross, William, who died in 1372; and William de Ros, 6th Baron de Ros of Helmsley, (c.1370-1414), Lord Treasurer of England, already a Knight and inherited the rank and privileges of his deceased brother, first summoned to the Parliament of England on November 20 1394, He would regularly attend sessions till 1413, first assignment from Richard II of England was to join Walter Skirlaw, Bishop of Durham, Henry Percy, 1st Earl of Northumberland and others in negotiating for a peace treaty with Robert III of...
Another 188 words (13 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Roos Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
In the United States, the name Roos is the 8,251st most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. [5] However, in France, the name Roos is ranked the 2,898th most popular surname with an estimated 2,000 - 2,500 people with that name. [6] And in Netherlands, the name Roos is the 94th popular surname with an estimated 10,635 people with that name. [7] South Africa ranks Roos as 499th with 14,434 people. [8]
Some of the Roos family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 60 words (4 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
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 Roos name or one of its variants: