Roach

• As an English surname, of Norman origin, from Old French roche (“rock”). Compare Roch.
• Also as an English surname, from the River Roch; see Roch.
• Also as an English surname, shortened from Rochdale.

Roach (countable and uncountable, plural Roachs or Roaches)

1. A surname.
   1. A surname from Anglo-Norman [in turn from Norman, in turn from Old French]
   2. A surname from placenames
2. A placename
   1. A rivers in the United Kingdom
      1. The River Roach, a river in Essex, England, which is a stream before becoming a tidal river and joining the River Crouch.
      2. Alternative spelling of Roch, the River Roch or Roach, A river in Greater Manchester, England. Roach appears to be mainly an older spelling.
         • 1964 October, “North-Western Line Multiple-Unit Services”, in Modern Railways, page 252, photo caption:

           A Bacup to Manchester Victoria via Heywood diesel multiple-unit crossing the River Roach at Heap Bridge, Bury on November 4, 1960.

   2. A places and rivers in the United States
      1. A short river in Piscataquis County, Maine, which flows into Moosehead Lake.
      2. A short river in Virginia, a tributary of the Rivanna River.
      3. An unincorporated community in Camden County, Missouri.
      4. A ghost town in Clark County, Nevada.
      5. An unincorporated community in Cabell County, West Virginia.

• Hanks, Patrick, editor (2003), “Roach”, in Dictionary of American Family Names, volume 3, New York City: Oxford University Press, →ISBN.

• Charo, Rocha, achor, archo-, corah, ochra, orach