Rocha (Portuguese pronunciation: ['ʁɔʃɐ]) is a Portuguese language surname. It literally means “rock” or “boulder” in Portuguese; for instance, “rochas sedimentares, metamórficas e magmáticas” means “sedimentary, metamorphic and igneous rocks”. It is also a topographic surname that is found in Portugal as “da Rocha” or simply Rocha, literally, "one who is from/of the rock". It could also be a Jewish-Portuguese Sephardic surname.[1][2]
People with the surname
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- Alvany Rocha, mathematician
- André Rocha (athlete) (born 1977), Brazilian para-athlete
- Antônio Cavilhas Rocha, Brazilian chess master
- Carlos Eduardo Rocha, mixed martial artist
- Chuck Rocha, US political strategist
- Coco Rocha (born 1988), Canadian supermodel
- Dardo Rocha, an Argentine 19th-century politician
- Diogo Rocha (tennis), Portuguese tennis player
- Elian Rocha (born 2000), Brazilian curler
- Evaristo Rocha, President of Nicaragua in 1839
- Geraldo Rocha Pereira, Brazilian footballer
- Glauber Rocha, Brazilian filmmaker
- John Rocha, Hong Kong born fashion designer
- Alicia de Larrocha, pianist
- Juan Ramon Rocha, Argentine footballer-manager and former Panathinaikos FC player
- Kali Rocha, American actress
- Laci Peterson, American woman who disappeared whose maiden name was Rocha
- Luis M. Rocha, Portuguese-American scientist
- Manuel Rocha, Colombian-American diplomat and Cuban agent
- Martha Rocha (1932–2020), Brazilian model
- Red Rocha (1923–2010), American basketball player and coach
- Ricardo Rocha (disambiguation), multiple people
- Paulo Rocha (disambiguation), multiple people
- Roberto Carlos da Silva Rocha (born 1973), a Brazilian footballer more commonly known as Roberto Carlos
- Simone Rocha, an Irish fashion designer
- Vagner Rocha, mixed martial artist
- Zack de la Rocha, lead singer of the band Rage Against the Machine
- ^ Sephardic Genealogy: Discovering your Sephardic Ancestors and their World - Jeffrey S. Malka. - Best Judaica Reference Book (2002) by Association of Jewish Libraries;
http://www.sephardicgen.com/ - Most complete reference of Sephardic names online;
http://www.sephardicgen.com/databases/SephardimCom2009.htm - List of 41,000 Sephardic Surnames extracted from books by Harry Stein Archived version
- ^ Jorge Martins (2006), Portugal e os Judeus: Volume I – dos primórdios da nacionalidade à legislação pombalina, Lisboa, Vega.