Rutgers

Recorded in over seventy different spellings ranging from Roger, Rodger, and Rodgier, to diminutives and patronymics such as Rogers, Ruggiero, Di Ruggero, Ruckhard and Roggeman, this ancient surname is of Old German pre 7th century origins. It derives from the personal name of the period "Hrodgari", translating as "Renowned-spear" from the elements "hrod" meaning renown and and "gari"- a spear. Unlike many popular baptismal names of the period which became later surnames, it has little or no association with Christianity nor for that matter with early royalty or nobility, King Roger's being by their absence! Nethertheless the name was very popular with the Norsemen, and it was they who "borrowed" it from the Gauls they conquered, as they swept through on their long march from Scandanavia to their final home in Normandy. From there the name was introduced into England after the famous Conquest of 1066, and as such is first recorded in the famous Domesday Book of 1086 in the Latinised "Rogerius" and "Rogerus". The forms with the intrusive "d", as Rodger, Rodgers and Rodgerson, are most popular in Scotland. Early examples of the name recordings taken from authentic rolls and register across Europe include Manch Rodigerous of Schaffhausen, Germany, in the year 1284, and William Rogger in the Subsidy Rolls of the county of Sussex, England in the year 1296. Other recordings include Contzlin Roger of Magstadt, Germany, in 1381 and Johannes Rogge of Meppen, Hannover, in 1481. In Scotland the marriage of Agnes Rodger and Cuthbert Mathesoune took place on June 20th 1605, at Edinburgh. The first recorded spelling of the family name anywhere in the world is believed to be that of Richard Roger, which was dated 1263. This was in the rolls known as the "Archaeological Records of Canterbury", Kent, during the reign of King Henry 111 of England. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.