The surname Rutherford, also Rutherfurd, is a Scottish and Northern English
habitational surname deriving from a place in the Scottish borders region near Roxburgh.[1] It is also a given name.
Origin
Rutherford is a Scottish border clan name. The name comes from a place-name in Roxburghshire on the south bank of the river Tweed, midway between Melrose and Kelso. A village there, then called Rothersfurth, was burnt and razed by an English army in 1545 and has disappeared from the map.
The origin of the Rutherford name is thought to have been the Old English "rother" meaning “cattle” and "ford", “a river crossing.”
Another theory of the origin of the name states that a man by the name Ruther carried an ancient king of Scots over the
River Tweed. Eventually, a descendant of the king gave land to the family that carried his forefather over the river and when surnames were adopted, Rutherford came into being.[3]
Surname
Notable people with the surname include:
Adam Rutherford, British geneticist, author, and broadcaster
This page or section lists people that share the same
given name or the same
family name. If an
internal link led you here, you may wish to change that link to point directly to the intended article.
The surname Rutherford, also Rutherfurd, is a Scottish and Northern English
habitational surname deriving from a place in the Scottish borders region near Roxburgh.[1] It is also a given name.
Origin
Rutherford is a Scottish border clan name. The name comes from a place-name in Roxburghshire on the south bank of the river Tweed, midway between Melrose and Kelso. A village there, then called Rothersfurth, was burnt and razed by an English army in 1545 and has disappeared from the map.
The origin of the Rutherford name is thought to have been the Old English "rother" meaning “cattle” and "ford", “a river crossing.”
Another theory of the origin of the name states that a man by the name Ruther carried an ancient king of Scots over the
River Tweed. Eventually, a descendant of the king gave land to the family that carried his forefather over the river and when surnames were adopted, Rutherford came into being.[3]
Surname
Notable people with the surname include:
Adam Rutherford, British geneticist, author, and broadcaster
This page or section lists people that share the same
given name or the same
family name. If an
internal link led you here, you may wish to change that link to point directly to the intended article.