An English, Irish and German surname, Roth comes from the Old English term ‘rot’ which means red. Also was the term ‘rod’ which meant wood. The spelling variations for Roth include Wrothem, Rothin, Rothschild, Roter, Reitman, Rootham, Rothert, Rothe, Roothem, Rothwell, Rottmann and Wroth. In England the Roth surname is mostly in the northern region. It is centered in Lancashire, and Yorkshire then south in the city of London and some neighboring counties. In Scotland Roth families are primarily in Kincardineshire, Banffshire, Lanarkshire, along with Ross and Cromarty. In Germany the Roth surname is common along the southwestern border, close to France and Switzerland. Within the United States most Roth families originated in Pennsylvania, New York, Ohio, Missouri, Illinois and California. Famous: Philip Milton Roth (fiction writer), Simon “Tim” Roth (English actor), Richard Roth (journalist), Cecilia Roth (actress from Argentina), Eli Roth (movie film director, writer, producer and actor), Henry Roth (novelist), Matt Roth (professional football player), Werner Roth (professional soccer player), Ulrich Roth (musician from Germany), Frederick Roth (sculptor) and Eric Roth (movie screenwriter).