Rove History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

• Origins Available:
• England

Etymology of Rove

Rove is an ancient Norman name that arrived in England after the Norman Conquest of 1066. The name Rove comes from the Norman given name Rudolph.

Early Origins of the Rove family

Early History of the Rove family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Rove research. Another 148 words (11 lines of text) covering the years 1066, 1297, 1332, 1510, 1521 and 1557 are included under the topic Early Rove History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Rove Spelling Variations

Anglo-Norman names are characterized by a multitude of spelling variations. When the Normans became the ruling people of England in the 11th century, they introduced a new language into a society where the main languages of Old and later Middle English had no definite spelling rules. These languages were more often spoken than written, so they blended freely with one another. Contributing to this mixing of tongues was the fact that medieval scribes spelled words according to sound, ensuring that a person's name would appear differently in nearly every document in which it was recorded. The name has been spelled Roffe, Rolfe, Rolph, Roalph, Roff, Ruff, Rouf and others.

Early Notables of the Rove family

Outstanding amongst the family at this time was John Rough (died 1557), Scottish Protestant martyr, is stated to have been born in 1510, but as he was incorporated in St. Leonard's College in the university of St. Andrews in 1521. He was a close friend of John Knox and was soon summoned before Winram, the vicar-general of St. Andrews. Rough managed...
Another 60 words (4 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Rove Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Rove family

For many English families, the political and religious disarray that plagued their homeland made the frontiers of the New World an attractive prospect. Thousands migrated, aboard cramped disease-ridden ships. They arrived sick, poor, and hungry, but were welcomed in many cases with far greater opportunity than at home in England. Many of these hardy settlers went on to make important contributions to the emerging nations in which they landed. Among early immigrants bearing the name Rove or a variant listed above were: James Rolfe and his wife Elizabeth Rolfe, who arrived in Virginia in 1623 with their son; Barbary Rofe who settled in New England in 1635; William Rofe, who arrived in Barbados in 1635.