Roos is a surname with multiple origins. In Dutch, Low German, Swiss German and Estonian “Roos” means “Rose” and the surname is often of toponymic origin (e.g. someone lived in a house named “the rose”). In 2007, 8600 people were named Roos and another 2880 “de Roos” in the Netherlands. In the UK, Roos may be of patronymic origin (“Andrews”) or indicating red hair (Old English “Rouse”). The name is also relatively common in Sweden (5,902 people in 2010), Finland (1219 in 2012) and Estonia (934 people in 2019).
People with the name "Roos" or "de Roos" include:
Contents
Academics
Anna Maria Roos (1862–1938), Swedish educator, author, theosophist and songwriter
Antoon Gerard Roos (1877–1953), Dutch philologist
Björn Roos (1937–2010), Swedish theoretical chemist
Charles F. Roos (1901–1958), American economist
Folkert de Roos (1920–2000), Dutch economist
Göran Roos, Swedish business theorist
Jan-Erik Roos, Swedish mathematician
J P Roos (born 1945), Finnish sociologist
Johan Roos (born 1961), Swedish organizational theorist
Leslie Roos (born 1940), American-Canadian professor of health sciences
Noralou P. Roos (born 1942), American-Canadian professor of community health sciences
Arts
Aarand Roos (1940–2020), Estonian linguist, writer and diplomat
Alexander Roos (c. 1810–1881), Italian-born British architect and urban planner
Bellan Roos (1901–1990), Swedish actress
Cajetan Roos (1690–1770), Italian landscape painter, son of Philipp Peter
Camilla Overbye Roos (born 1969), Danish film actress
Cornelis Sebille Roos (1754–1820), Dutch art dealer
Don Roos (born 1959), American screenwriter and film director
Eddy Roos (born 1949), Dutch draughtsman and sculptor
Enn Roos (1908–1990), Estonian Soviet sculptor
Eva Roos (1872–1956), British children's books illustrator
Ewa Roos (born 1949), Swedish singer and actress
Fred Roos (1934–2024), American film producer
Graham Roos (born 1966), British producer, writer and performer
Jaime Roos (born 1953), Uruguayan musician
Jan Roos (c. 1591–1638), Flemish painter who worked in Italy as Giovanni Rosa
Joanna Roos (1901–1989), American actress and playwright
Johann Heinrich Roos (1631–1685), German painter, father of Philipp Peter and Johann Melchior
Military
Axel Erik Roos (1684–1765), Swedish general
Carl Gustaf Roos (1655–1702), Swedish general
George Roos-Keppel (1866–1921), British military officer
Helm Roos (1930–1992), South African general
Margareta Elisabeth Roos (1696–1772), Swedish-Estonian cross-dressing female in the Swedish army
Politics
Ants Roos (1885–1962), Estonian politician
Jochen K. Roos (born 1990), German politician
John Roos (born 1955), American diplomat, former Ambassador to Japan
Karl Roos (1878–1940), Alsace politician
Lawrence K. Roos (1918–2005), American (Missouri) banker and politician
Malte Tängmark Roos (born 1994), Swedish politician
Mike Roos (born 1946), American (Californian) politician
Reet Roos (born 1973), Estonian politician
Thea de Roos (born 1949), Dutch historian and politician
Tielman Roos (1879–1935), South African politician
Sports
Aat de Roos (1919–1992), Dutch field hockey player
Angelica Roos (born 1989), Swedish weightlifter
Ann-Sofi Roos (born 1959), Swedish Olympic swimmer
Axel Roos (born 1964), German football player and coach
Bertil Roos (1943–2016), Formula One driver from Sweden
Céline Roos (1953–2021), French and Canadian chess player
Daniël Roos (born 1959), French chess master
David Roos (born 1982), South African paralympian athlete
De Wet Roos (born 1990), South African-born Australian rugby player
Elena Roos (born 1991), Swiss orienteer
Elisandro Naressi Roos (born 1976), a.k.a. Santiago, Brazilian footballer
Fanny Roos (born 1995), Swedish shot putter
Gerrit Roos (1898–1969), Dutch weightlifter
JC Roos (born 1990), South African rugby player
Jake Roos (born 1980), South African golfer
Janek Roos (born 1974), Danish badminton player
Jennifer Roos (born 1971), American basketball coach
Other
Barney Roos (1888–1960), American automotive engineer
Charlotta Roos (1771–1809), Swedish occult medium
Christian Roos (1826–1896), German Roman Catholic bishop
Jan Roos (born 1977), Dutch columnist
Jørgen Roos (1922–1998), Danish documentary filmmaker
Magnus Friedrich Roos (1727–1803), German theologian
Martin Roos (born 1942), Romanian Roman Catholic bishop
Rachel Roos (1923–1989), Dutch World War II resistance fighter
Robert de Roos (c. 1170–1227), ancestor of the Barons Ros of Helmsley
Rosalie Roos (1823–1898), Swedish feminist activist and writer
Victor Roos (1888–1964), American founder of several aircraft companies, including Cessna
Wilhelm Roos (1858–1944), Finnish Lutheran clergyman and politician