Show ContentsRothschild History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The name Rothschild is denotes at the "red sign" at the "old house on the Upper Rhine." 1 At times, "red" was in reference to a "red shield" or in Yiddish a "red coat."

Early Origins of the Rothschild family

The surname Rothschild was first found in Speyer, a city in Rhineland-Palatinate region of Germany. Here Hartmut zum Rotenschite or Rotschilt was recorded in 1313. At about the same time, the name Rotscilt was registered in Lübeck, a city in Northern Germany in 1338. 1

The famed Rothschild banking family were originally from Frankfurt. Mayer Amschel Rothschild (1744-1812), a court factor to the German Landgraves of Hesse-Kassel in the Free City of Frankfurt, Holy Roman Empire, established his banking business in the 1760s. His five sons established businesses in London, Paris, Frankfurt, Vienna, and Naples.

Early History of the Rothschild family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Rothschild research. Another 90 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1710, 1715, 1744, 1755 and 1812 are included under the topic Early Rothschild History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Rothschild Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Rothstein, Rothenstein, Rothmaler, Rothenmaler, Roddenstein, Rodenmaler, Rodstein, Rotstein, Rochstein, Roytenstein, Roitenstein, Roitstein, Rojtenstein, Reitenstein, Ruttenstein, Ruthstein, Routenstein and many more.

Early Notables of the Rothschild family

Notables with the name Rothschild during this period were

  • Amschel Moses Rothschild (c. 1710-1755) was a German Jewish money changer and trader in silk cloth in the Judengasse, the Jewish ghetto of the Free City of Frankfurt in present-day Germany...
  • Generally considered to be the progenitor of the banking family, he was father to Mayer Amschel Rothschild (1744-1812) who became the progenitor of the Rothschild dynasty...

Rothschild Ranking

In the United States, the name Rothschild is the 11,964th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 2


Rothschild migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Rothschild Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • Caroline Rothschild, aged 26, who arrived in New York, NY in 1848 3
  • Leopold Rothschild, aged 18, who arrived in New York, NY in 1848 3
  • Ressa Rothschild, aged 34, who landed in New York, NY in 1848 3
  • Samuel Rothschild, who arrived in New Jersey in 1854 3
  • Care Rothschild, aged 19, who landed in New York in 1854 3
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)
Rothschild Settlers in United States in the 20th Century
  • Max Rothschild, who arrived in Mississippi in 1901 3

Contemporary Notables of the name Rothschild (post 1700) +

  • V. Henry II Rothschild (1908-1991), American Democratic Party politician, Candidate for Presidential Elector for New York, 1956; Candidate for Justice of New York Supreme Court 9th District, 1959 4
  • Samuel Rothschild (b. 1879), American Republican politician, Delegate to Republican National Convention from New York, 1936 4
  • Matthew Rothschild, American Democratic Party politician, Delegate to Democratic National Convention from California, 2004 4
  • Joseph Rothschild, American Democratic Party politician, Alternate Delegate to Democratic National Convention from California, 1916 4
  • Jonathan Rothschild, American politician, Mayor of Tucson, Arizona, 2013 4
  • Herb Rothschild, American Democratic Party politician, Candidate for U.S. Representative from Louisiana 6th District, 1984 4
  • George W. Rothschild (1916-1996), American politician, Circuit Judge in Illinois, 1983-95 4
  • Beryl E. Rothschild (b. 1929), American Republican politician, Candidate for U.S. Representative from Ohio 11th District, 1992; Mayor of University Heights, Ohio, 2004; Delegate to Republican National Convention from Ohio, 2004 4
  • Meyer Amschel Rothschild (1743-1812), founder of the Rothschild family banking empire
  • Jacob Rothschild OM, GBE, CVO (1936-2024), 4th Baron Rothschild, born Nathaniel Charles Jacob Rothschild, a British peer, investment banker and a member of the Rothschild banking family
  • ... (Another 12 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

RMS Titanic
  • Mrs. Elizabeth Jane Anne Rothschild, (née Barrett), aged 54, American First Class passenger from New York City, New York who sailed aboard the RMS Titanic and survived the sinking escaping in life boat 6 5
  • Mr. Martin Rothschild (d. 1912), aged 46, American First Class passenger from New York City, New York who sailed aboard the RMS Titanic and died in the sinking 5


  1. Bahlow, Hans, Dictionary of German Names. translated by Edda Gentry, Wisconsin: The Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System, 2002. Print. (ISBN 0-924119-35-7)
  2. "What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
  3. 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)
  4. The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, November 10) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
  5. Titanic Passenger List - Titanic Facts. (Retrieved 2016, July 13) . Retrieved from http://www.titanicfacts.net/titanic-passenger-list.html


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