Etymology

From Old Swedish *roþs- ‎(“related to rowing”); related to Old Norse Roþrslandi ‎(“the land of rowing”), older name of Roslagen, where the Finns and Swedes first met, from roðr ‎(“steering oar”), from Proto-Germanic *rōaną ‎(“to row”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₁reh₁- ‎(“to row”). See also under Ruotsi.

Cognates in Baltic-Finnic languages include Estonian Rootsi, Veps Ročinma, Võro Roodsi, Northern Sami Ruoŧŧa.