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Name Lineage

    The surname Rochester

    An English surname, carried by 4,024 people in the United States.

    Pronounced /ˈɹɑt͡ʃɛstɚ/ 3 syllables Soundex R223

    Rochester: #8,238 of 162,253 surnames in the 2010 US Census #1Smith#160,975Doriott#10Martinez#100Jimenez#1,000Archer Rochester #8,238, 4,024 people Rochester: #8,238 of 162,253 surnames in the 2010 US Census #1Smith#160,975Doriott#100Jimenez Rochester #8,238, 4,024 people
    Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). Rochester is more common than 94.9% of them.

    Origin

    English origin

    From Middle English Rovescester, from Old English Hrofesċeaster (literally “Hrofi's fortified camp”). Doublet of Rossiter.

    One of 1,446 English surnames on this site.

    Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

    How common it is

    2010 US Census

    There were 4,024 people named Rochester in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 76,726 Americans. That is up 7.2% since 2000, when the Census counted 3,752.

    #8,238
    rank among US surnames
    4,024
    people in 2010
    1.4
    per 100,000 Americans
    +7.2%
    change since 2000 (was #8,137)
    RankSurnamePeople1 in
    #8,232Chery4,02776,669
    #8,234Latorre4,02676,688
    #8,235Lakey4,02576,707
    #8,238Rochester4,02476,726

    Who is named Rochester

    Race and Hispanic origin as people reported it in the 2010 Census

    64% of people named Rochester identified as white (not Hispanic), 30% as Black (not Hispanic) and 3.0% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).

    • White (not Hispanic) 64%
    • Black (not Hispanic) 30%
    • Hispanic or Latino (any race) 3.0%
    • Two or more races 2.2%
    • American Indian and Alaska Native 0.7%
    • Asian and Pacific Islander 0.5%

    Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

    Famous Rochesters

    2 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

    • Lisa Blunt Rochester
      American politician (born 1962)
    • Nathaniel Rochester
      American computer scientist (1919–2001)

    Spellings and sound-alikes

    Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

    Variant spellings

    Surnames that sound like Rochester

    Rochester has the Soundex code R223, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code R223.

    Other English surnames

    All 1,446 English surnames

    Questions

    Where does the surname Rochester come from?
    From Middle English Rovescester, from Old English Hrofesċeaster (literally “Hrofi's fortified camp”). Doublet of Rossiter.
    How common is the surname Rochester?
    4,024 people in the United States had the surname Rochester in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 76,726 Americans. It ranked 8,238th of 162,253 surnames.
    What ethnicity is the surname Rochester?
    In the 2010 Census, 64% of people named Rochester identified as white (not Hispanic), and 30% as Black (not Hispanic).
    Who is the most famous person named Rochester?
    Lisa Blunt Rochester, American politician (born 1962), followed by Nathaniel Rochester.
    Where is the surname Rochester most common?
    Wikidata records people named Rochester in the United States.
    How do you pronounce Rochester?
    Rochester is /ˈɹɑt͡ʃɛstɚ/, 3 syllables.
    Is the surname Rochester getting more or less common?
    More common. 3,752 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 4,024 in 2010, up 7.2%.
    What are other spellings of Rochester?
    Rossiter, Roshter and Rachacha.