Roth (/rɒθ/) is an English, German, or Jewish origin surname. There are seven theories on its origin:^{[citation needed]}

1. The spilling of blood from the warrior class of ancient Germanic soldiers;
2. Ethnic name for an Anglo-Saxon, derived from rot (meaning "red" before the 7th century), referencing red-haired people;
3. Topographical name, derived from rod (meaning "wood"), meaning a dweller in such a location;
4. Derivative from hroth (from the Proto-Germanic word for "fame"; related to hrod);
5. Local name for 18th-century Ashkenazi refugees to Germany;
6. Derivative from roe in the ancient Danish language to signify (of) a king;
7. 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.^[1]

People with the surname Roth include:

• 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

• 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

• 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
• 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
• 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

• Rothe
• Liljeroth
• Rothchild

Surname list

This page lists people with the surname Roth.
If an internal link intending to refer to a specific person led you to this page, you may wish to change that link by adding the person's given name(s) to the link.