The surname Rothe can be of English, German or Jewish in origin. From the German and Jewish it is a nickname for a person with red hair, from German ‘rot’, red ( Middle High German, Old High German ‘rot’ ). As a Jewish surname it is also at least partly ornamental: its frequency as a Jewish surname is disproportionate to the number of Jews who one may reasonably assume were red-headed during the period of surname adoption. In the German and English sense it is a topographical name for someone who lived in a clearing; Old English ‘rod’, meaning a woodland. A family could acquire a place name as a surname under three different circumstances: 1. the gentleman lived or worked in or near some topographical formation or landscape feature, either natural or artificial. 2. he formerly lived in a village and thus acquired the reputation of being from that place. 3. he owned or was lord of the village or manor designated. However, it is safe to say that in this case the original bearer either lived or worked near or in a woodland. As a German name it may also be a short form of any of the various German…
Coat of arms: Gules an or…