Rohr
A name with several possible roots, most likely linked to reed beds, a place called Rohr, or in some cases a short form of an older given name.
The #5,514 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 48,945 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Rohr is a German word meaning a reed, cane, or rush, and surnames from it could point to someone who lived near reed-grown ground or to a place named for such features. In German naming, Rohr can also be locational, referring to someone from one of the many places called Rohr. Some older writers also suggested that in a few cases it may be a shortened form of an old personal name, but that is less certain.
History
The surname appears in German-speaking areas in several different forms and may have arisen independently in more than one place. The historical sources you provided connect Rohr mainly with German place-names and with a possible nickname or shortened-name interpretation, but they do not settle on a single origin. Today it is found in Germany, Switzerland, and among later emigrant communities abroad.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
German surname dictionaries note that Rohr is only one member of a large family of names built from place-names like Rohrbach, Rohrberg, and Rohrborn.
From the historical record
“moser. Lottermoser (ostpreuß. d. i. salzburgisch). Niedermoser, Rohr- moser (ostpreuß., vgl. Rohrmoos in Steiermark). Sonnenmoser (württemb.).”
— Die deutschen Familiennamen