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Rochester
How to Pronounce Rochester
Pronounced RAH-ches-tur /ˈrɑ.tʃɛs.tər/Medium
Meaning: Rochester is an English place-name and surname meaning roughly 'stone fort' or 'Roman camp', from an old British name combined with the Old English ceaster 'fortress, Roman town'. Used as a given name, it carries that place-name origin.Medium
Popularity in the U.S. · SSA data
U.S. births per year (Social Security Administration, 1880–present). Pink marker = peak year.
SSA data updated May 2026. How we source & verify this data.
History & Origin
Rochester is an English place-name and surname, from an old British name plus the Old English ceaster 'Roman fortress', giving a sense of 'stone fort'. It names a cathedral city in Kent and a city in New York, and Charlotte Bronte used it for the brooding Mr. Rochester in Jane Eyre. As a first name it appears in United States birth records in the early twentieth century, reached its modest high around 1944, and was never common, given to only a couple dozen boys a year.
A boy named Rochester then would be a grandfather or great-grandfather now. The name reads as a stately surname-and-place choice with literary echoes. It has not revived, but its solid, distinguished sound keeps it recognizable.
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Frequently Asked
What does the name Rochester mean?
It is an English place-name and surname meaning roughly 'stone fort' or 'Roman camp', from the Old English ceaster 'fortress'.
How do you pronounce Rochester?
It's said RAH-ches-tur /ˈrɑ.tʃɛs.tər/, three syllables, stress on the first.
Is Rochester a boy or girl name?
Rochester is used as a boy's name.
How popular is Rochester?
It has always been rare, a place-and-surname name given to only a couple dozen boys a year, with a small high in the nineteen-forties.