Frequency: (153)
(number of times this surname appears in a sample database of 88.7 million names, representing one third of the 1997 US population)
French: 1. habitational name from Rottier in Drôme. 2. from the Germanic personal name Hrothari composed of the elements hrōd ‘renown’ + hari ‘army’. 3. occupational name for a player on the rote (a medieval stringed instrument), Old French rote.
See the Key to the Dictionary or consult the General Introduction for further explanation.
