Roth (surname)

This article is about the surname Roth. For other uses, see Roth (disambiguation).

Roth (/rɒθ/) is an English, German, or Jewish origin surname. There are seven theories on its origin:^{[citation needed]}

1. The spilling of blood from the warrior class of ancient Germanic soldiers;
2. Ethnic name for an Anglo-Saxon, derived from rot (meaning "red" before the 7th century), referencing red-haired people;
3. Topographical name, derived from rod (meaning "wood"), meaning a dweller in such a location;
4. Derivative from hroth (from the Proto-Germanic word for "fame"; related to hrod);
5. Local name for 18th-century Ashkenazi refugees to Germany;
6. Derivative from roe in the ancient Danish language to signify (of) a king;
7. Of the red colour of clay, as in pottery (German).

Roth

Origin
Word/name	Britain, Germany, Ashkenazi Jews
Meaning	"red", or "wood", or "renown"
Other names
Variant form(s)	Reitman, Roiter, Roitman, Rojter, Roter, Rothchilds, Rothe, Rotheman, Rother, Rothert, Rothman, Rothmann, Rothbaum, Rothnie, Rothbauer, Rothchild, Rothschild, Rothwell, Rott, Rottman, Rothin, Rothfuss/fuß

Note: Roth is not originally a Hebrew surname. Its origins are in northern Europe, and it is a common name in Scotland and other English-speaking countries as well as in German-speaking countries. For historic reasons, the Jewish people adopted various established names, many of which were common amongst non-Jewish people in their respective countries.

The first English-language historic record of the surname 'Roth' appeared in the United Kingdom in Colchester and Essex public records in 1346.^[1]

People with the surname Roth

People with the surname Roth include:

A–F

• Agustina Roth (born 2001), BMX rider
• Aharon Roth (1894–1947), Hasidic rabbi
• Albrecht Wilhelm Roth (1757–1834), German physician and botanist
• Alice Roth (1905–1977), Swiss mathematician
• Alvin E. Roth (aka Al Roth) (born 1951), American economist
• Alvin Roth (1930s–2003), American basketball player
• Alvin Roth (bridge) (1914–2007), American bridge player
• Andrew Roth (1919–2010), British political biographer
• Ann Roth (born 1931), American costume designer
• Arnie Roth, American musician
• Andreas Roth (runner), Norwegian middle-distance runner.
• Andreas Roth (painter), German painter.
• Andreas Roth (lawyer), German lawyer.
• Arnold Roth (born 1929), American cartoonist
• Asher Roth (born 1985), American rapper
• Bruce Roth (born 1954), American chemist
• Carl Roth (basketball) (1909–1966), American basketball player and coach
• Carl Roth of Nedre Fösked (1712–1788), Swedish blacksmith, farrier and ironmaster
• Carl Roth II (1753–1832), Swedish ironmaster
• Carl Reinhold Roth (1797–1858), Swedish businessman and ironmaster
• Carol Roth (born 1973), American small business advocate, author and investor.
• Cecil Roth (1899–1970), British-Israeli historian
• Celso Roth (born 1957), Brazilian football (soccer) coach
• Charles Roth, American politician
• Claudia Roth (born 1955), German politician
• Connie Roth (born 1974), Canadian-American polymer scientist
• Dagmar Roth-Behrendt (born 1953), German lawyer and politician
• Daniel Roth (organist) (born 1942), French organist
• Daniel Roth (writer), financial journalist and senior writer at Wired magazine
• David Roth (disambiguation), multiple people
• David Lee Roth (born 1954), American, original and final lead singer of Van Halen
• Dick Roth (born 1947), American 1964 Olympic gold medalist swimmer
• Dieter Roth (1930–1998), German-born Swiss printmaker and mixed-media artist
• Ed Roth (1932–2001), American artist and cartoonist
• Eli Roth (born 1972), American film director, producer, writer and actor
• Emery Roth (1871–1948), Hungarian-American architect
• Eric Roth (born 1945), American screenwriter
• Erica Roth, American politician
• Erich Roth (SS officer) (born 1910 in Auschwitz – executed 1947 in Yugoslavia for war crimes), Nazi SS and Gestapo officer
• Ernie Roth (1929–1983), American wrestling manager of heels
• Ernst Roth (1896–1971), Austrian-British music publisher
• Ernst Heinrich Roth (1877–1948), German violin maker
• Esther Roth-Shahamorov (born 1952), Israeli track and field athlete
• Eugen Roth (1895–1976), German lyricist and poet
• Ferdinando Roth (1815–1898) Famous Milan based musical instrument maker and inventor of the Rothphone
• Frances Levenstein Roth (1896–1971) was an American lawyer and founding director of the Culinary Institute of America.
• Francois-Xavier Roth (born 1971), French conductor
• Frederick Roth (1872–1944), American sculptor and animalier
• Friederike Roth (born 1948), German writer
• Friedrich Ritter von Röth (1893–1918), German flying ace

G–L

• Gabrielle Roth, American musician, "urban shaman"
• Gerhard Roth, (several people)
• Heinrich Roth (1620–1668), German missionary
• Henry Roth (1906–1995), American novelist and short story writer
• Henry Ling Roth (1855–1925), English-born anthropologist, active in Australia
• Holly Roth (born 1916, disappeared 1964), American crime writer who disappeared at sea
• J. D. Roth (born 1968), American TV personality, actor, children's game show host, TV voice-over performer, TV reality show producer
• Jane Richards Roth (born 1935), American federal judge
• Joanna Roth (born 1965), Danish-born actress
• Joe Roth (born 1948), American entertainment executive, producer and film director
• Joe Roth (American football) (c. 1955–1977), American college football player
• Joel Roth (born 1940), American rabbi
• Johannes Roth (1815–1858), German zoologist
• John Roth (disambiguation), multiple people
• Joseph Roth (1894–1939), Austrian novelist
• Jürgen Roth (1945–2017), German publicist and investigative journalist
• Justus Ludwig Adolf Roth (1818–1892), German geologist and mineralogist
• Kip Roth, American para-alpine skier
• Klaus Roth (1925–2015), British mathematician
• Laura M. Roth, American physicist
• Leah Lenke Roth (1918–2012), Israeli swimwear fashion designer
• Leonard Roth (1904–1968), British mathematician
• Lurline Matson Roth (1890–1985), American heiress, equestrian, philanthropist
• Ludwig Roth (1909–1967), German rocket scientist

M–W

• Mark Roth (1951–2021), American pro bowler
• Martin Roth (disambiguation), multiple people
• Marty Roth (born 1958), Canadian race car driver
• Matt Roth (American football) (born 1982), American football player
• Matt Roth (actor) (born 1964), American actor
• Michael Roth (disambiguation), multiple people
• Mickey Roth (1927–2025), Canadian ice hockey player
• Mike Roth, American writer and producer
• Miriam Roth (1910–2005), Israeli writer and scholar of children's books, kindergarten teacher, and educator
• Moran Roth (born 1982), Israeli basketball player
• Nina Roth (born 1988), American Olympic curler
• Otto Roth (1884–1956), Commissioner-in-Chief of the Banat Republic
• Petra Roth (born 1944), German politician, mayor of Frankfurt
• Phil Roth (1930–2002), American television and film actor
• Philip Roth (1933–2018), American novelist
• Philipp Roth (1853–1898), German cellist
• Phillip J. Roth (born 1959), American producer, director and screenwriter
• Rolf Roth (born 1938), Swiss chess master
• Randy Roth (born 1954), American murderer
• Richard Roth (disambiguation), multiple people
• Roger Roth (born 1978), American politician
• Sanford H. Roth (1906–1962), American photographer
• Simon Roth, Swiss curler
• Stephen John Roth (1908–1974), United States federal judge
• Stephan Ludwig Roth (1796–1849), Transylvanian Saxon intellectual, pedagogue and Lutheran pastor
• Steven Roth, real estate investor and founder of Vornado Realty Trust
• Susanna Roth (1950–1997), Swiss bohemist and literary translator
• Thomas Roth (born 1951), German news television presenter
• Tim Roth (born 1961), English film actor and director
• Trudi Roth (1930–2016), Swiss actress.
• Ulrich Roth (born 1954), German electric guitarist
• Veronica Roth (born 1988), American novelist and short story writer
• Vladimír Roth (born 1990), Czech ice hockey player
• Volker Roth (1942–2025), German football referee
• Walter Roth (1861–1933), English anthropologist in Australia
• Walter Roth (Minnesota politician) (1893–1973), American farmer and politician
• Werner Roth (comics) (1921–1973), American comic book artist
• Werner Roth (soccer) (born 1948), American soccer player
• William M. Roth (1916–2014), American politician
• William V. Roth, Jr. (1921–2003), American lawyer and politician
• Wolfgang Roth (politician) (1941–2021), German politician
• Yechezkel Roth, rabbi

See also

• Rothe
• Liljeroth
• Rothchild