The name Roscoe is primarily used as both a given name and a surname of English origin, derived from an Old Norse habitational term meaning roe deer wood or clearing. Because of its etymological roots in Anglo-Saxon and Norse history, individuals associated with the name Roscoe are predominantly of European ancestry. In contemporary usage, particularly in the United States, the name has been adopted across diverse communities and racial groups due to generational naming conventions and cultural assimilation, though its historical and linguistic foundation remains firmly anchored in British and Northern European traditions.

The surname Roscoe is an old English habitational last name of Anglo-Saxon and Norse origin, derived from northern English locations named from the Old Norse words rogr, meaning roe deer, and skogr, meaning wood or forest. Consequently, families bearing the surname Roscoe are traditionally of British and European ethnic heritage. Over centuries, the name established roots throughout the United Kingdom and subsequently spread across the English-speaking world due to historical migration patterns.