Rothschild (variant: Rothchild) is a German surname.

Rothschild is a habitational name from a house distinguished with a red sign (Middle High German rōt "red" + schilt "sign", "shield"), the earliest recorded example dating from the 13th century.

The most notable family with this surname is the Mayer Amschel Rothschild family. This famous banking (N M Rothschild & Sons in London, de Rothschild Frères in Paris, S M von Rothschild in Vienna) and wine (Château Mouton Rothschild, Château Lafite-Rothschild) family took it from a house so marked in the Jewish quarter of Frankfurt-am-Main, but the name has also been adopted by many Ashkenazi Jews unrelated to the family such as:

• Paul Rothchild, producer of The Doors, Janis Joplin
• Abraham Rothschild
• Dorothy Parker, née Rothschild
• Winston Rothschild, III (fictional character from The Red Green Show)
• Jean-Pierre de Rothschild, impressionist painter

In Britain the surname is normally pronounced "Roth-child" or "Roth's-child".

• The Walter Rothschild Zoological Museum, Tring was the private collection of Lionel Walter, 2nd Baron Rothschild and is housed at the former Rothschild family home .

References

• Hanks, Patrick Dictionary of American Family Names Oxford University Press ISBN 0195081374

The Rothschilds

Rothschild