The Roche surname
In the 2010 U.S. Census, 18,940 people carried this name — #1,895 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 15,600 people counted. That is up 6% from 17,905 in 2000.
What the name means
The meaning of the Roche surname
An Irish and French surname from Anglo-Norman of Norman origin.
(Cornish village) Recorded as La Roche 1233; from Anglo-Norman roche (“rock”).
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Roche» (English), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.
In France’s civil register
France’s register of deaths holds 19,395 people named Roche.
372 of them were born outside France. Those born in France came from 104 départements, most often Loire.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they were born
Fichier des personnes décédées, INSEE — Licence Ouverte 2.0 · deaths recorded in France since 1970, by place of birth.
In Ireland’s birth registers, 1890
Ireland registered 183 births for the Roche name in 1890.
They were registered in all four provinces, most of all in Munster. By the Registrar-General’s own method — births multiplied by 44.38 — that is about 8,100 people bearing the name in Ireland at the time. 42 of them were indexed under other spellings of the name.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they were born, 1890
Registrar-General for Ireland, «Special Report on Surnames in Ireland» (R. E. Matheson, 1894), births index of 1890 — public domain.
In Argentina’s national register
At least 964 people named Roche live in Argentina.
RENAPER only publishes a name in a province when more than ten people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in Buenos Aires Province.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they live today
RENAPER (National Registry of Persons, Argentina), surnames of residents by province, December 2021 — CC BY 4.0.
In Switzerland’s population statistics
218 people named Roche live in Switzerland.
They live in 12 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Vaud.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they live today
Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO), «Surnames of the permanent resident population by canton», 2025, opendata.swiss/en/dataset/nachnamen-der-standigen-wohnbevolkerung-nach-kanton3 · names with fewer than 3 bearers in a canton are not published.
In Belgium’s population register
At least 75 people named Roche live in Belgium.
Statbel only publishes a name in a municipality when five or more people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in Brussels-Capital.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they live today
Statbel (Statistics Belgium), family names of the population by municipality, 1 January 2026 — CC BY 4.0.
In the Nordic population registers
32 people named Roche is counted in Sweden.
Sweden’s figure is from 31 December 2022, the last count Statistics Sweden published.
Counted, by country
Own calculations based on data from Statistics Sweden (SCB), surnames with at least two bearers, 31 December 2022 — CC BY 4.0 (names with 20 or more bearers shown).
In print
Roche in American newspapers,
1871–1935.
Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 265,092 pages in all carry the name.
Nearby in the index
Surnames next to Roche.
- Rocci 271 · U.S. census
- Roccia 260 · U.S. census
- Rocco 6,583 · U.S. census
- Roch 822 · U.S. census
- Rocha 55,251 · U.S. census
- Rochat 365 · U.S. census
- Rochefort 888 · U.S. census
- Rochel 454 · U.S. census
- Rochelle 3,553 · U.S. census
- Rocher 316 · U.S. census
- Roches 144 · U.S. census
- Rochet 155 · U.S. census
When the index is not enough
This page says where Roche is.
A volume says what happened to it.
Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.