# Roth (surname)

Roth (/rɒθ/) is an English, German, or Jewish origin surname. There are seven theories on its origin:
* The spilling of blood from the warrior class of ancient Germanic soldiers;
* Ethnic name for an Anglo-Saxon, derived from rot (meaning "red" before the 7th century), referencing red-haired people;
* Topographical name, derived from rod (meaning "wood"), meaning a dweller in such a location;
* Derivative from hroth (from the Proto-Germanic word for "fame"; related to hrod);
* Local name for 18th-century Ashkenazi refugees to Germany;
* Derivative from roe in the ancient Danish language to signify (of) a king;
* Of the red colour of clay, as in pottery (German).
Note: Roth is not originally a Hebrew surname. Its origins are in northern Europe, and it is a common name in Scotland and other English-speaking countries as well as in German-speaking countries. For historic reasons, the Jewish people adopted various established names, many of which were common amongst non-Jewish people in their respective countries.
The first English-language historic record of the surname 'Roth' appeared in the United Kingdom in Colchester and Essex public records in 1346.

## People with the surname Roth

People with the surname Roth include:

### A–F

* Agustina Roth (born 2001), BMX rider
* Aharon Roth (1894–1947), Hasidic rabbi
* Albrecht Wilhelm Roth (1757–1834), German physician and botanist
* Alice Roth (1905–1977), Swiss mathematician
* Alvin E. Roth (aka Al Roth) (born 1951), American economist
* Alvin Roth (1930s–2003), American basketball player
* Alvin Roth (bridge) (1914–2007), American bridge player
* Andrew Roth (1919–2010), British political biographer
* Ann Roth (born 1931), American costume designer
* Arnie Roth, American musician
* Andreas Roth (runner), Norwegian middle-distance runner.
* Andreas Roth (painter), German painter.
* Andreas Roth (lawyer), German lawyer.
* Arnold Roth (born 1929), American cartoonist
* Asher Roth (born 1985), American rapper
* Bruce Roth (born 1954), American chemist
* Carl Roth (basketball) (1909–1966), American basketball player and coach
* Carl Roth of Nedre Fösked (1712–1788), Swedish blacksmith, farrier and ironmaster
* Carl Roth II (1753–1832), Swedish ironmaster
* Carl Reinhold Roth (1797–1858), Swedish businessman and ironmaster
* Carol Roth (born 1973), American small business advocate, author and investor.
* Cecil Roth (1899–1970), British-Israeli historian
* Celso Roth (born 1957), Brazilian football (soccer) coach
* Charles Roth, American politician
* Claudia Roth (born 1955), German politician
* Connie Roth (born 1974), Canadian-American polymer scientist
* Dagmar Roth-Behrendt (born 1953), German lawyer and politician
* Daniel Roth (organist) (born 1942), French organist
* Daniel Roth (writer), financial journalist and senior writer at Wired magazine
* David Roth (disambiguation), multiple people
* David Lee Roth (born 1954), American, original and present lead singer of Van Halen
* Dick Roth (born 1947), American 1964 Olympic gold medalist swimmer
* Dieter Roth (1930–1998), German-born Swiss printmaker and mixed-media artist
* Ed Roth (1932–2001), American artist and cartoonist
* Eli Roth (born 1972), American film director, producer, writer and actor
* Emery Roth (1871–1948), Hungarian-American architect
* Eric Roth (born 1945), American screenwriter
* Erich Roth (SS officer) (born 1910 in Auschwitz – executed 1947 in Yugoslavia for war crimes), Nazi SS and Gestapo officer
* Ernie Roth (1929–1983), American wrestling manager of heels
* Ernst Roth (1896–1971), Austrian-British music publisher
* Ernst Heinrich Roth (1877–1948), German violin maker
* Esther Roth-Shahamorov (born 1952), Israeli track and field athlete
* Eugen Roth (1895–1976), German lyricist and poet
* Ferdinando Roth (1815–1898) Famous Milan based musical instrument maker and inventor of the Rothphone
* Frances Levenstein Roth (1896–1971) was an American lawyer and founding director of the Culinary Institute of America.
* Francois-Xavier Roth (born 1971), French conductor
* Frederick Roth (1872–1944), American sculptor and animalier
* Friederike Roth (born 1948), German writer
* Friedrich Ritter von Röth (1893–1918), German flying ace

### G–L

* Gabrielle Roth, American musician, "urban shaman"
* Gerhard Roth, (several people)
* Heinrich Roth (1620–1668), German missionary
* Henry Roth (1906–1995), American novelist and short story writer
* Henry Ling Roth (1855–1925), English-born anthropologist, active in Australia
* Holly Roth (born 1916, disappeared 1964), American crime writer who disappeared at sea
* J. D. Roth (born 1968), American TV personality, actor, children's game show host, TV voice-over performer, TV reality show producer
* Jane Richards Roth (born 1935), American federal judge
* Joanna Roth (born 1965), Danish-born actress
* Joe Roth (born 1948), American entertainment executive, producer and film director
* Joe Roth (American football) (c. 1955–1977), American college football player
* Joel Roth (born 1940), American rabbi
* Johannes Roth (1815–1858), German zoologist
* John Roth (disambiguation), multiple people
* Joseph Roth (1894–1939), Austrian novelist
* Jürgen Roth (1945–2017), German publicist and investigative journalist
* Justus Ludwig Adolf Roth (1818–1892), German geologist and mineralogist
* Kip Roth, American para-alpine skier
* Klaus Roth (1925–2015), British mathematician
* Laura M. Roth, American physicist
* Leah Lenke Roth (1918–2012), Israeli swimwear fashion designer
* Leonard Roth (1904–1968), British mathematician
* Lurline Matson Roth (1890–1985), American heiress, equestrian, philanthropist
* Ludwig Roth (1909–1967), German rocket scientist

### M–W

* Mark Roth (1951–2021), American pro bowler
* Martin Roth (disambiguation), multiple people
* Marty Roth (born 1958), Canadian race car driver
* Matt Roth (American football) (born 1982), American football player
* Matt Roth (actor) (born 1964), American actor
* Michael Roth (disambiguation), multiple people
* Mickey Roth (1927–2025), Canadian ice hockey player
* Mike Roth, American writer and producer
* Miriam Roth (1910–2005), Israeli writer and scholar of children's books, kindergarten teacher, and educator
* Moran Roth (born 1982), Israeli basketball player
* Nina Roth (born 1988), American Olympic curler
* Otto Roth (1884–1956), Commissioner-in-Chief of the Banat Republic
* Petra Roth (born 1944), German politician, mayor of Frankfurt
* Phil Roth (1930–2002), American television and film actor
* Philip Roth (1933–2018), American novelist
* Philipp Roth (1853–1898), German cellist
* Phillip J. Roth (born 1959), American producer, director and screenwriter
* Rolf Roth (born 1938), Swiss chess master
* Randy Roth (born 1954), American murderer
* Richard Roth (disambiguation), multiple people
* Roger Roth (born 1978), American politician
* Sanford H. Roth (1906–1962), American photographer
* Simon Roth, Swiss curler
* Stephen John Roth (1908–1974), United States federal judge
* Stephan Ludwig Roth (1796–1849), Transylvanian Saxon intellectual, pedagogue and Lutheran pastor
* Steven Roth, real estate investor and founder of Vornado Realty Trust
* Susanna Roth (1950–1997), Swiss bohemist and literary translator
* Thomas Roth (born 1951), German news television presenter
* Tim Roth (born 1961), English film actor and director
* Trudi Roth (1930–2016), Swiss actress.
* Ulrich Roth (born 1954), German electric guitarist
* Veronica Roth (born 1988), American novelist and short story writer
* Vladimír Roth (born 1990), Czech ice hockey player
* Volker Roth (1942–2025), German football referee
* Walter Roth (1861–1933), English anthropologist in Australia
* Walter Roth (Minnesota politician) (1893–1973), American farmer and politician
* Werner Roth (comics) (1921–1973), American comic book artist
* Werner Roth (soccer) (born 1948), American soccer player
* William M. Roth (1916–2014), American politician
* William V. Roth, Jr. (1921–2003), American lawyer and politician
* Yechezkel Roth, rabbi