Rogers is one of the most common surnames in Britain and Ireland. Its English origin is simple: it means "son of Roger", a very common personal name made up of two Germanic elements hrod "renown" and geri "spear". It is also common in Scotland, where it is frequently spelt Rodgers. Many, if not most of those bearing the name in Ireland are of English and Scottish descent. However, the Gaelic Irish surname Mac Ruaidhri, from the personal name Ruaidhri, meaning "red king", was also anglicised as Rogers. Two Mac Ruaidhri families are notable in early times, one based in Co. Tyrone, a branch of whom migrated north to Co. Derry, the other in Co. Fermanagh, possibly an offshoot of the Maguires. In these areas, the surname was also anglicised MacRory and MacCrory. In addition, because Ruaidhri, was such a common personal name, many individuals in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries were identified by the fathers' names. A son of Ruaidhri O Briain might, for example, be known as Mac Ruaidhri O Briain. In a significant number of cases, the Mac Ruaidhri was then passed on to the next generation, instead of Briain, became a hereditary surname in its own right, and was then anglicised "Rogers"