Rosay History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

• Origins Available:
• Ireland
• Scotland
• England

Etymology of Rosay

Ireland already had an established system of hereditary surnames when the Strongbownians arrived. Often the two traditions blended together quite well due to some of their basic similarities, but the incoming Anglo-Norman system brought in some forms that were uncommon amongst the Irish. One of these Anglo-Norman anomalies was the prevalence of local surnames, such as Rosay. Local names were taken from the names of a place or a geographical feature where the person lived, held land, or was born. Originally, the 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 surnames of these Strongbownian invaders referred to places in Normandy, or more typically England, but eventually for those Anglo-Normans that remained in Ireland, the nicknames referred to places or geographical features of the island: they became true local names. The Rosay family appears to have originally lived in Wroxeter in the English county of Shropshire, or in Rochester in the English county of Kent. The surname Rosay belongs to the large category of Anglo-Norman habitation names, which are derived from pre-existing names for towns, villages, parishes, or farmsteads. The Gaelic form of the surname Rosay is Rosaitear.

Early Origins of the Rosay family

Early History of the Rosay family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Rosay research. Another 145 words (10 lines of text) covering the years 1066, 1086, 1172, 1575, 1601, 1618, 1623, 1645 and 1669 are included under the topic Early Rosay History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Rosay Spelling Variations

Medieval scribes and church officials spelled the names as they sounded, so a name was often spelled many different ways during the lifetime of a single person. The investigation of the origin of the name Rosay revealed many spelling variations including Rossiter, Rossitor, Rosseter, Rossetor, Roucester, Rosceter, Roscetor, Rawceter, Rosay, Rawciter, Rowsitter, Rausiter, Rassitor, Rowseter, Russiter, Russeter and many more.

Early Notables of the Rosay family

Philip Rosseter (1575-1623), lutenist and stage-manager. "In 1601 he published 'A Booke of Ayres, set foorth to the Lute, Orpherian, and Basse Violl,' containing twenty-one songs by Dr. Thomas Campion, and twenty-one by Rosseter." 1 Colonel Sir Edward...
Another 36 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Rosay Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Rosay Ranking

France, the name Rosay is the 8,555^th most popular surname with an estimated 500 - 1,000 people with that name. 2

Migration of the Rosay family

Ireland experienced a dramatic decrease in its population during the 19th century. This was in a great measure, a response to England's imperialistic policies. Hunger and disease took the lives of many Irish people and many more chose to leave their homeland to escape the horrific conditions. North America with its promise of work, freedom, and land was an extremely popular destination for Irish families. For those families that survived the journey, all three of these things were often attained through much hard work and perseverance. Research into early immigration and passenger lists revealed many immigrants bearing the name Rosay: John Rosseter settled in Philadelphia in 1802; Elizabeth Rossiter settled in New England with her husband in 1773; E. Rossetor arrived in San Francisco in 1850.