Explore the Family Name Roswell

The meaning of Roswell

English (Somerset): apparently a habitational name from an unidentified place. In the absence of any evidence for a place called Ro(w)sewell or Ros(e)will, this is perhaps a hypercorrect variant of Rowsell (see Rossell), on the analogy of placenames where pronunciation of -well is colloquially shortened to -el.

Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.

How common is the last name Roswell in the United States?

Based on the Decennial U.S. Census, the popularity of the surname Roswell saw a slight decrease from 2000 to 2010. Ranked at 35,153 in 2000, it dropped to 38,582 in 2010, marking a change of -9.75 in ranking. The count of individuals bearing the Roswell name also decreased by 5.6 percent over the decade, moving down from 607 to 573. This led to a decrease in the proportion per 100,000 people from 0.23 to 0.19, representing a 17.39 percent drop.

	2000	2010	Change
Rank	#35,153	#38,582	-9.75%
Count	607	573	-5.6%
Proportion per 100k	0.23	0.19	-17.39%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Roswell

The ethnicity breakdown of the surname Roswell, as per the Decennial U.S. Census, denotes certain shifts between 2000 and 2010. No changes were recorded for Asian/Pacific Islander and American Indian and Alaskan Native groups, with the data remaining at zero. Those identifying as two or more races declined from 1.32 to 0.87, a 34.09 percent decrease. White ethnicity holders of the Roswell surname made up 90.12 percent in 2000 but this number slightly decreased to 86.56 percent by 2010. Hispanic ethnicity representation grew significantly, increasing by 134.15 percent from 0.82 to 1.92. The Black ethnicity group also increased from 6.59 to 9.08, marking a growth of 37.78 percent.

	2000	2010	Change
White	90.12%	86.56%	-3.95%
Black	6.59%	9.08%	37.78%
Hispanic	0.82%	1.92%	134.15%
Two or More Races	1.32%	0.87%	-34.09%
Asian/Pacific Islander	0%	0%	0%
American Indian and Alaskan Native	0%	0%	0%