Named for politician and property developer Sir John Rogerson (1648–1724), the quay was formerly part of Dublin Port.

[4] The lease of 133 acres (54 ha) on the south bank of the river (described as 'betwixt Lazy Hill and Ringsend') was conditional on Rogerson constructing a quay on the land.

[4] John Rocque's 1756 map of Dublin shows Rogerson's quay as largely developed by the mid-18th century.

[9] By the 20th century, Sir John Rogerson's Quay was home to a number of shipbuilding and shipping companies,[10] as well as several storehouse types, including cold stores[11] and 'campshire' sheds.

[12] At the beginning of the "Lotus-Eaters" episode of James Joyce's Ulysses, set in 1904, Leopold Bloom, one of the novel's protagonists, walks along Rogerson's Quay.