Updated June 9, 2019 Share: Family name origins & meanings English : variant of Ash; the name arose as the result of misdivision of Middle English atter ashe ‘at the ash tree’ (Old English æt þǣre æsce).Jewish : of uncertain origin; the Guggenheimers consider it to be a variant of Rasch 1.Americanized spelling of German and Jewish Rasch.