Rostrevor was named by Sir Edward Trevor from Denbighshire, who settled in the area in the early 17th century and was succeeded by his son Marcus Trevor, who became Viscount Dungannon. While it is accepted that the trevor part of the name derives from Edward's surname, there is confusion over the first element ros. Walter Harris writing in 1744 and Samuel Lewis writing in 1838 both attest the ros element as deriving from the name of Edward Trevor's wife Rose, a daughter of Henry Ussher, Archbishop of Armagh, whom he married in 1612. Hamilton, writing in 1915, discounts both and claims that Edward Trevor adopted the word ros (from Irish: rois) meaning "wood", as it was very suitable for the area. Harold O'Sullivan states that Trevor named the area after he got married to his second wife Rose Trevor, and that the name was corrupted over time into Rostrevor. Adding to the confusion is the usage in the past of Rostrevor, Rosstrevor, and Rosetrevor to refer to the area.
Today the spelling Rostrevor is used for the village, while the spelling Rosstrevor is used for the townland the village resides in. Before Edward Trevor's renaming of the area it was formerly known as Caisleán Ruairí (English: Rory's castle).
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