Rochester is a surname, originally a locational surname derived from the town of Rochester in Kent, England.
Notable people with the surname include: Ajay Rochester (born 1969), Australian actress and author Anna Rochester (1880–1966), American labor researcher and Communist political activist George Rochester (1908–2001), English physicist John Rochester (disambiguation), several persons Nathaniel Rochester (1752–1831), American Revolutionary War soldier and land speculator, founder of Rochester, New York Nathaniel Rochester (computer scientist) (1919–2001), designed the IBM 701, wrote the first assembler and participated in the founding of the field of artificial intelligence Paul Rochester (1938–2020), American football player Robert Rochester (c. 1494 – 1557), English Roman Catholic and employee of Queen Mary I Thomas H. Rochester (1797–1874), the 6th son of Colonel Nathaniel Rochester and the 6th mayor of Rochester William B. Rochester (1789–1838), American lawyer and politician from New York
Fictional characters: Edward Rochester, character in the novel Jane Eyre