Rochester Family History
Rochester Name Meaning
English: habitational name from the city in Kent, which is recorded
by Bede (c.730) under the names of both Dorubrevi and
Hrofæcæstre. The former represents the original British
name, composed of the elements duro- ‘fortress’ and
briva ‘bridge’. The second represents a contracted form
of this (possibly affected by folk etymological connection with Old
English hrof ‘roof’) combined with an explanatory Old
English cæster ‘Roman fort’ (from Latin castra
‘military camp’). There is a much smaller place in Northumbria also
called Rochester, which seems to have been named in imitation of the
more important one, but which is a more than occasional source of the
surname. In other cases there may also have been confusion with
Wroxeter in Shropshire, recorded in Domesday Book as
Rochecestre.
Dictionary of American Family Names, Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-508137-4
123,341
Historical Documents & Family Trees with Rochester
Name Distribution of Rochester Families
MAP:
England & Wales
Scotland
Number of Rochester families
 109 - 215  37 - 108 |
 1 - 36  |
from the 1891 England and Wales Census Data
Number of Rochester families
|
4 - 6 2 - 3 |
1 |
from the 1891 Scotland Census Data
Rochester census records
You can see how Rochester families moved over time by selecting different Census years.
Census records can tell you little-known facts about your ancestors such as birthplace, occupation and value of personal estate.
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Rochester Family Origin
Rochester Emigration Information (US)
Click on a circle in the chart to view Rochester emigration records
You can find out when most of the Rochester families immigrated
to the United States.
You can focus your search to emigration records dating from that era.
Emigration records can tell you an ancestor's name, ship name, port of departure,
port of arrival and destination.
View all Rochester emigration records >
from the New York Passenger Lists
Rochester Family Occupations
from 1881 UK Census Data
Rochester census records
Census records can offer a lot of little known facts about your Rochester ancestors, such as occupation.
Occupation can tell you about your ancestors' social status and economic status.
View all Rochester census records >
Military Service by Rochester
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