Rochus as a Baby Name. Meaning and Origin of Rochus

What is the meaning of the name Rochus ?

The baby name Rochus is a Male name , 2 syllables long and is pronounced English: ROH-kus (/ˈroʊkəs/); German: ROH-khoos (/ˈʁoːxʊs/).

Rochus is Germanic in Origin.

Rochus is the Latinized and German form of a medieval given name from a West Germanic root, commonly explained as hrok/hruoh ‘rest, repose’; some traditions also link it to the rook (a crow-like bird), though this is less certain. Via Latin hagiography it spread into many vernaculars: Roch (French, Polish), Rocco (Italian), Roque (Spanish, Portuguese), Rok (Slovene), Rokas (Lithuanian), and Dutch/Low German Rochus; regional forms include Sicilian Roccu and Croatian Roko, with English nickname Rocky.

Usage soared through the cult of St. Roch (St. Rocco), a 14th‑century pilgrim-saint invoked against plague, which spread the name across Catholic Europe from the late Middle Ages. His feast day on 16 August anchored its appearance in baptismal records, notably in German-speaking lands, Italy, Iberia, and Poland. Today Rochus is rare and old-world, while its cognates remain active - Italian Rocco has revived, and Polish Roch, Slovene Rok, and Croatian Roko are familiar. Core meaning: ‘rest’/‘repose.’