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Roger is a masculine given name, and a surname. The given name is derived from the Old French personal names Roger and Rogier. These names are of Germanic origin, derived from the elements hrd, ri ("fame", "renown", "honour") and gr, gr ("spear", "lance") (Hrigraz). The name was introduced into England by the Normans.[2] In Normandy, the Frankish name had been reinforced by the Old Norse cognate Hrgeirr.[3] The name introduced into England replaced the Old English cognate Hrogar. Roger became a very common given name during the Middle Ages. A variant form of the given name Roger that is closer to the name's origin is Rodger.[4]

From c.1650 up to c.1870, Roger was slang for the word "penis".[5][6][7] In Under Milk Wood, Dylan Thomas writes "jolly, rodgered" suggesting both the sexual double entendre and the pirate term "Jolly Roger".[8]

In 19th-century England, Roger was slang for another term, the cloud of toxic green gas that swept through the chlorine bleach factories periodically.[9]

From circa 1940 in US and UK wartime communication, "Roger" came to represent "R" when spelling out a word. "R" is the first letter in "received", used to acknowledge understanding a message. This spread to civilian usage as "ROGER" replaced "received" in spoken usage in air traffic radio parlance by 1950.[citation needed]

Current British slang includes the word as a verb to mean sexual intercourse, i.e., "took her home and Rogered her."

The following forenames are related to the English given name Roger:

See also All pages with titles beginning with Roger de, All pages with titles beginning with Roger of and All pages with titles beginning with Roger van for people with these names

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Roger - Wikipedia