The surname Rosi is a topographic surname, which was given to a person who resided near a physical feature such as a hill, stream, church, or type of tree. Habitation names form the other broad category of surnames that were derived from place-names. They were derived from pre-existing names for towns, villages, parishes, or farmsteads. Other
local names are derived from the names of houses, manors, estates, regions, and entire counties. As a general rule, the greater the distance between an individual and their homeland, the larger the territory they were named after. For example, a person who only moved to another parish would be known by the name of their original village, while people who migrated to a different country were often known by the name of a region or country from which they came. In
Scotland, the island of Rousay is located on the
Orkney Islands and dates back to Neolithic times. The island's spelling evolved from "Rollesay" in the 14th century and "Rowsay" in the 16th century. But before migrating to Scotland, the Rosi family lived in
Normandy at the village of Rosay.
Early Origins of the Rosi family
The surname Rosi was first found in
Norfolk, where they were Lords of the Manor of Waterden and West Rudham where Lambert de Rossei was an under
tenant to Earl Warren. They were originally from Rosay, Seine-Inf, arrondisement of Dieppe, in the canton of Bellencombre. Descended was Lambert's son, Walkelin who held Castle Acres, and then succeeded by Ralph de Rosei about 1270. They seemingly moved north to
Fife where they were granted the lands of Rossie near Montrose.
Early History of the Rosi family
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Rosi research.
Another 363 words (26 lines of text) covering the years 1219, 1245, and 1296 are included under the topic Early Rosi History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Rosi Spelling Variations
Spelling variations of this family name include: Rossi, Rossie, Rossei, Rossy, Rossey, Rosse and others.
Early Notables of the Rosi family (pre 1700)
More information is included under the topic Early Rosi Notables in all our
PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Migration of the Rosi family to the New World and Oceana
Some of the first settlers of this family name or some of its variants were: Alex Rosse who settled in Virginia in 1650; David Rosse settled in Boston Massachusetts in 1652; Henry Rosse settled in Bermuda in 1635; Thomas and Rebecca Rosse settled with their two sons in Virginia in 1623.
Contemporary Notables of the name Rosi (post 1700)
- Joseph A. Rosi, American Republican politician, Candidate for West Virginia State House of Delegates from Harrison County, 1964 [1]CITATION[CLOSE]
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, October 29) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html - Francesco Rosi (1922-2015), Italian film director; his film The Mattei Affair won the Palme d'Or at the 1972 Cannes Film Festival