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.^[1][2] The name can also be of English toponymic origin, referring to someone living near a rood ("cross").^[3] 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
• E. Irene Rood (1843-1921), founder of the Chicago Audubon Society
• 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
• Jurriën Rood [de] (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

Surname list

This page lists people with the surname Rood.
If an internal link intending to refer to a specific person led you to this page, you may wish to change that link by adding the person's given name(s) to the link.