Rock Family History

English: topographic name for someone who lived near a notable crag or outcrop, from Middle English rokke ‘rock’ (see Roach), or a habitational name from a place named with this word, as for example Rock in Northumberland. English: variant of Roke (see Rokes 1). English: metonymic occupational name for a spinner or a maker of distaffs, from Middle English rok ‘distaff’ (from Old Norse rokkr or Middle Dutch rocke or an unattested Old English cognate). German: from a short form of the personal name Rocco (see Roche 3). German: metonymic occupational name for a tailor, from Middle High German rok, roc ‘skirt’, ‘gown’. German (Röck): variant of Roche 3.

Source: Dictionary of American Family Names ©2013, Oxford University Press