Rood (surname)

Rood is a Dutch surname. Meaning "red", it often originally referred to a person with red hair. The name can also be toponymic, since in Middle Dutch "rood" or "rode" was a name for a cleared area in the woods. Among variant forms are De Rood(e), Roode, Roodt and 'Van Rood. The name can also be of English toponymic origin, referring to someone living near a rood ("cross"). Notable people with the surname include:


 * Anson Rood (1827–1898), American businessman and Wisconsin politician
 * Davenport Rood (fl. 1840s), American carpenter and Wisconsin councilman
 * Denise Rood (born 1955), American violinist
 * Grace Alexandra Rood (1893–1981), New Zealand school dental nurse
 * Harold W. Rood (1922–2011), American political scientist
 * John Rood (born 1968), American businessman, Under Secretary of Defense for Policy since 2018
 * John D. Rood (born 1955), American businessman, Ambassador to the Bahamas from 2004 to 2007
 * Jon van Rood (1926–2017), Dutch immunologist
 * (born 1955), Dutch screenwriter, film director and philosopher
 * Katie Rood (born 1992), New Zealand football forward
 * Mary Rood, British silversmith
 * Max Rood (1927–2001), Dutch legal scholar and D66 politician
 * Ogden Rood (1831–1902), American physicist and color theorist
 * Richard Rood (violinist) (born 1955), American violinist
 * Richard B. Rood (born c. 1955), American climatologist
 * Richard E. Rood, better known as Rick Rude (1958–1999), American professional wrestler
 * Ronald Rood (1920–2001), American author, naturalist and radio commentator
 * Theoderic Rood (fl. 1470s), English printer
 * Tim Rood (born 1960s), British classical scholar
 * Variant spellings
 * Bobby Roode (born 1977), Canadian professional wrestler
 * Dan Roodt (born 1967), Afrikaner author, publisher, and commentator
 * Darrell Roodt (born 1962), South African film director, screenwriter and producer
 * Dewald Roode (1940–2009), South African computer scientist and information systems researcher
 * Hendrik Roodt (born 1987), South African rugby player
 * Middle names derived from the surname
 * Charles Rood Keeran (1883–1948), American (Illinois) inventor and businessman
 * James Rood Doolittle (1815–1897), American politician, US Senator from Wisconsin 1857–69
 * John Rood Cunningham (1891–1980), American college president