Family name origins & meanings
- English : from a medieval personal name composed of the Germanic elements hrōd ‘renown’ + wald ‘rule’, which was introduced into England by Scandinavian settlers in the form Róaldr, and again later by the Normans in the form Ro(h)ald. This name has absorbed a much rarer one with the second element hard ‘hardy’, ‘brave’, ‘strong’, which was introduced into England by the Normans in the form Ro(h)ard. It has also sometimes been used as a pet form of Rowe 2, itself both a variant of Rolf and a short form of Rowland.