Rothschild (German pronunciation: [ˈʁoːt.ʃɪlt]) is a name derived from the German zum rothen Schild (with the old spelling "th"), meaning "to the red shield", in reference to the houses where these family members lived or had lived.
The Rothschild banking family's coat of arms features in the center of its heraldry a red shield.
In Denmark, by royal decree of 29 March 1814, all Danish Jews were obliged to adopt a surname after their town of residence.
In the records, one family with residence in Roskilde took the name Rothschild, presumably because of the German pronunciation of the town's name.
[1] The wife of writer Meïr Aron Goldschmidt, Lea Rothschild (born 1801), was of that family.