Rountree
An English surname meaning someone who lived by or was identified with a rowan tree.
The #5,196 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 45,903 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Rountree is a spelling variant of Rowntree, from Middle English rowan or rowan-tree, the mountain ash, plus tree. The surname was used for someone living near a rowan tree or a place marked by one. One historical source also treats it as Scandinavian in form, reflecting the Old Norse word for “tree,” but the core sense is still “rowan tree.”
History
The name is best attested in northern England, especially Yorkshire, where tree-based surnames of this type were common. It later appears in records and publications in several spellings, including Rowntree, Rountree, and Rountry. The form became well known through English families such as the Leeds Quaker merchant family of Rowntree.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
In some nineteenth-century surname books, Rountree is filed as a variant under Rowntree rather than as a separate name.
From the historical record
“" enclosed within a circular pale." ROUNTREE (Scand.) Dweller at a Rowan- Tree [v. under Rowan', and + O.N. tre, a tree] ROURKE, V. O'Rourke. ROUS I (A.-Fr.-Lat.) Red, Red - Haired ROUSE I [M.E. A.-Fr. rous{e, O.Fr. rous (Fr. roux -sse, Prov. ros), Lat. russ-us, red] , Jordan le Rous. — Cal Ing. P.M. Juliana la…”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)