Show ContentsRosseter History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

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 Rosseter. 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 Rosseter 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 Rosseter 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 Rosseter is Rosaitear.

Early Origins of the Rosseter family

The surname Rosseter was first found in County Wexford (Irish: Loch Garman), founded by Vikings as Waesfjord, and located in Southeastern Ireland, in the province of Leinster, where they had been granted lands by Strongbow for their assistance in the Anglo/Norman invasion of Ireland in 1172.

Early History of the Rosseter family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Rosseter 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 Rosseter History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Rosseter 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 Rosseter 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 Rosseter family

Notable amongst the family up to this time was

  • 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...


United States Rosseter migration to the United States +

The Irish emigration during the late 18th and 19th century contributed to the melting pot of nationalities in North America, and the building of a whole new era of industry and commerce in what was seen as a rich, new land. Ireland'sGreat Potato Famine resulted in the worst economic and social conditions in the island's history. And in response to the hunger, disease, and poverty, during this decade the total number of emigrants to leave for North America rivaled all the previous years combined. Those from this decade that arrived on North American shores were not warmly welcomed by the established population, but they were vital to the rapid development of the industry, agriculture, and infrastructure of the infant nations of the United States and what would become Canada. Research into early immigration and passenger lists has shown many people bearing the name Rosseter:

Rosseter Settlers in United States in the 17th Century
  • Edward Rosseter, who arrived in Boston, Massachusetts in 1629 [1]
  • Bray Rosseter, who landed in New England in 1631 [1]
Rosseter Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • John Rosseter, who settled in Philadelphia in 1802
  • Lawrence Rosseter, aged 26, who landed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1825 [1]

Contemporary Notables of the name Rosseter (post 1700) +

  • John H. Rosseter, American Republican politician, Delegate to Republican National Convention from California, 1920 [2]
  • Philip Rosseter (1568-1623), English lutenist and composer


  1. 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)
  2. The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2016, March 9) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html


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