The rau Surname
rau Name Meaning and History
- German: nickname for a ruffian, earlier for a hairy person, from Middle High German ruch, ruhe, rouch ‘hairy’, ‘shaggy’, ‘rough’.
- English: from a medieval personal name, a variant of Ralph.
- Italian (Sicily): from a local variant of the personal name Rao, an old form of Ra(o)ul, composed of the Germanic elements rad ‘counsel’, ‘advice’ + wolf ‘wolf’. Compare Ralph.
- Indian: variant of Rao.
Dictionary of American Family Names, Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-508137-4
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