Surname Rohlof - Meaning and Origin

Rohlof: What does the surname Rohlof mean?

Rohlof is a surname of German origin derived from the root name Roelof. The original Old German form of the name was Rodolf, which translates roughly to "glorious wolf" – Rod meaning “glory” and Olf meaning “wolf”. The German spelling of the family name was originally spelled with an umlaut which is presently written as Rohlof when transliterated into Latin script. It is believed that the Rohlof surname is derived from the ancient Germanic tribe of the Burgundians – a people of West Germanic origin found mainly on the modern-day French-German border.

The Rohlof family has been in Germany since at least the 12th century and some of the earliest recorded bearers of the name can be found in Heiligenstadt, a small rural municipality in Thuringia, Germany. By the 19th century, the Rohlof family had spread throughout Europe, with branches of the family settling in the Netherlands, Ireland and the United Kingdom.

In modern times, the Rohlof surname is found throughout the world. It is a popular name among German-speaking communities on every continent, but particularly in the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and across the United States, Canada, and Australia. This suggests that many of the first Rohlof families who settled in these countries were German immigrants.

Rohlof: Where does the name Rohlof come from?

The last name Rohlof is most often found today in Germany, with its closest link being to the region of Ruhr in North Rhine-Westphalia. This area was historically a coal mining and manufacturing region and a major metropolitan center.

The Rohlof surname is believed to be derived from the old German word «hroblof», which translates to «growth of willow trees», referring to the many willow trees that grew in the area during the Middle Ages. It is believed to have been in use since the 12th century, and is estimated to be more than 600 years old. According to records, the first bearer of the Rohlof name is thought to be a man named Henricus de Rohlof, who lived in Bocholt in Westphalia in the late 1300s.

More recently, many bearers of the Rohlof name have migrated to other countries in Europe, such as the Netherlands, Sweden, and Denmark, as well as to countries beyond Europe, such as the United States, Canada, and Australia, in search of better economic and political opportunities.

Today, the Rohlof surname is commonly found in Germany, Sweden, the Netherlands, Denmark, Australia, Canada, and the United States. It can be found particularly in areas where there are large German- speaking populations, such as those in the Midwestern and Western United States.

Variations of the surname Rohlof

The surname Rohlof is of Germanic origin, derived from a personal name formed from the Old German elements "hrod" (fame, glory) and "louf" (wolf). Alternate variants of Rohlof are Rohloff, Roloff and Roloffe.

The earliest documented form of the surname is Roloff which appears in documents from Prussia in 1310. It is also recorded in Germany and Austria in the 16th century.

In America the name Roloff is associated with German immigrants who came to Pennsylvania in the 1700s, and also with immigrants who settled in Prussia prior to 1800.

Other American variants include Roloffe, Rohloff and Rohlof.

In the 19th century, a branch of the family emigrated to Canada, where the name Rohlof became more widely used.

Altogether, there are numerous spellings of the same name, but they all share the same German roots and offer an interesting insight into the history of the family.

Famous people with the name Rohlof

• Olga Rohloff, former German tennis player
• Jorg Rohloff, German Schauspieler
• Rines Rohloff, former Estonian figure skating coach
• Sonya Rohlf, founding member of the Girl Scouts of the USA
• Eva Rohloff, former Swedish actress
• Carl Rohlof, former German military 20th century
• Albert Rohloff, former German tenor singer
• Eva Rohlof, former German Olympic athlete
• Armin Rohloff, former German cyclist
• Kristina Rohloff, former German handball player
• Berthold Rohloff, former German lawyer and government minister
• Monika Rohloff, former German fencing Olympic champion
• Johna Rohloff, former Swedish top model
• Patrick Rohloff, former German goalkeeper
• Edgar Rohloff, former German rifle shooter

Other surnames

Rohloff