Michael Roughton

(male) English form of a common biblical name (meaning ‘who is like God?’ in Hebrew) borne by one of the archangels, the protector of the ancient Hebrews, who is also regarded as a saint of the Catholic Church. In the Middle Ages, Michael was regarded as captain of the heavenly host (see Revelation 12:7–9), symbol of the Church Militant, and patron of soldiers. He was often depicted bearing a flaming sword. The name is also borne by a Persian prince and ally of Belshazzar mentioned in the Book of Daniel. Since the early 1900s it has been one of the most enduringly popular boys' names in the English-speaking world. See also Michal.

English: habitational name from any of various places named Roughton or Wroughton. Roughton, Lincolnshire, the most likely source of the surname according to its present-day distribution, and Roughton, Norfolk, are both named from Old English rūh ‘rough’ or Old Norse rugr ‘rye’ + tūn ‘farm’, ‘settlement’. Roughton, Shropshire is named with Old English rūh + tūn, and Wroughton, Wiltshire (the least likely source of the surname) from Worf, a Celtic river name meaning ‘winding stream’, + Old English tūn.