The word Rocha literally means boulder in Portuguese. It is also a topographical surname that is found in Portugal as "da Rocha" or simply Rocha, literally, "one who is from/of the boulder". Boulder In geology, a boulder is a rock with grain size of usually no less than 256 mm (10 inches) diameter. ... Topography, a term in geography, has come to refer to the lay of the land, or the physiogeographic characteristics of land in terms of elevation, slope, and orientation. ...

The first documented usage of the surname in Portugal was from a Monsignor de la Roche who arrived in Portugal on his way to the Holy Land from possibly Flanders during the reign of Afonso III of Portugal and assisted in the taking of Silves from the Moors. Afonso III of Portugal granted this gentlemen lands in Torres Novas and other locales for his services. His descendants used the Portuguese version of the word, 'da Rocha'. Flanders (Dutch: ) is a large historical region overlapping Belgium, France and the Netherlands. ... Afonso III of Portugal (Portuguese pron. ... Image:Silves. ... The Moors were the medieval Muslim inhabitants of the western Mediterranean and western Sahara, including: al-Maghrib (the coastal and mountain lands of present day Morocco and Algeria, and Tunisia although Tunisia often is separately called Ifriqiya after the former Roman province of Africa); al-Andalus (the former Islamic sovereign... Afonso III of Portugal (Portuguese pron. ... Coat of Arms Torres Novas (pron. ...

Another wave of the Roche family arrived from the Diocese of Fermoy, Ireland where they were viscounts during the reign of Joao I. This family helped with the Portuguese war against Castile and this gentlemen had three sons, Gomes, Louis, and Raymond. It is from D. Gomes da Rocha where the Portuguese version of the name continued onto later generations. WGS-84 (GPS) Coordinates: 52. ... A viscount is a member of the European nobility, especially of France, and of the British peerage, where a viscount ranks above a baron, below an earl (a count in France), and corresponds in Britain to the Anglo-Saxon shire reeve. ... João I, king of Portugal (in English, John I) (the Good or sometimes, the Great), was born at Lisbon in April 11, 1357 and died in the same city in August 14, 1433. ... The starting point of Crown of Castile can be considered when the union of the Kingdoms of Castile and Leon in 1230 or the later fusion of their Cortes (their Parlaments). ...

According to the "Dicionário das Famílias Portuguesas" (Dictionary of Portuguese Families) by D. Luiz de Lancastre e Távora, Gomes da Rocha was commandante of Pombeiro, Portugal and other monasatries in 1482 before becoming bishop of Tripoli in the middle of the XV century. Another Portuguese author, Felgueiras Gayo, states Gomes was married to a lady by the name of D. Ines de Meneses and after becoming a widow, he became commandante on Pombeiro. It is from this family that the current coat-of-arms bearing 'da Rocha' families of Portugal are said to be descended from. The Monastery of Pombeiro (Mosteiro de Pombeiro) is a monastery in the village of Pombeiro de Ribavizela, in the council of Felgueiras, district in Porto, in Portugal. ... Tripoli (Arabic: طرابلس Tarābulus) is the capital city of Libya. ...

Rocha is also a famous variety of pear from Portugal - Pêra Rocha (Rocha pear"). This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Pêra Rocha (Rocha Pear) is an autochthonous Portuguese variety of pear. ...

External link

• Roche/Roache Family History

Rocha is the capital of the department of Rocha in Uruguay. It has a population of 25,538 (2004 census). Uruguay consists of 19 departments (departamentos, singular - departamento) (capitals in parentheses): Artigas (Artigas). ... The introduction to this article provides insufficient context for those unfamiliar with the subject matter. ...

Rocha is a community in Moca, Puerto Rico territory of USA in the Caribbean. It has a population of 4,000 aprox. (2000 census). Moca is a northwest municipality of Puerto Rico known as La Capital del Mundillo (The capital of lace) it was founded by Don José de Quiñónez on April 7, 1772. ... “West Indian” redirects here. ...

Coordinates: 34°29′S, 54°21′W Map of Earth showing lines of latitude (horizontally) and longitude (vertically), Eckert VI projection; large version (pdf, 1. ...