What is the origin ethnicity or country of origin of the surname Rosenthal?

Answer 1

This particular surname has its origin in pre-mediaeval Germany in an area spanning both sides of the Rhine river in Germany's west. In this ancient area, the inhabitants were wont to use only first or personal names but as population grew in numbers, they found it necessary to use a system of "family names" or surnames in an attempt to protect their land ownership and the inheritance of that land. The surname "Rosenthal" was used to denote people who inhabited a small town, Resenthal, which translates into English as "rose valley" or "the valley of roses" and indicates that a person of that name is descended of people who once lived in that town.

In some instances the surname was created artificially when Jews were required to take surnames during the Napoleonic era. Many names combined two descriptive terms, such as Rosenthal (Rose Valley) or Rosenberg (Rose Mountain) and had nothing to do wiht a particular town..