Apparently, from historical records, any way you like. Through the years, county clerks, lawyers, and even family members have struggled to spell the Roark name. The only consistency has been inconsistent spelling. The following is a list of the different spelling of the name encountered in historical documents in the search for family history. Each spelling referred to an ancestor (with 95% certainty) or to a related family member. The number with each spelling identifies the document in the Roark Conner History Data File in which the spelling occurs.

 
O'Roke	3346	Orork	3325	ORock	3354 
Ororoak	3324	Oroach	3359	Ororurk	3347 
Ororke	3330	O'Roark	3327	O'Rorck	3350  
O'Roack	3351	O'Rorok	3353	O'Rorak	3353  
Oroark	3326	Roak	3538	Rork	3339   
Rorrer	3338	Roarch	3335	Rorak	3331		 
Roack	3339	Rorack	3341	Rorark	3341	 
Rorax	3466	Rorrax	3468	Roarack	3497	 
Rockark	3505	Rorick	3324	Rowark	3545	 
Rourke	3344	Rourk	3344	Ruark	3356	 
Roark	3506		 

The "O" in the name was prevalent in northern Virginia until about 1760 after which the other spellings occurred. "Rowark" followed "Roark" chronologically and was used first by cousins in Grayson County, Virginia, in about 1790. From Claiborne County, Tennessee, in about 1834 until the present, the spelling, with minor variations has been the modern version. This possibly can be attributed to the fact that most of our ancestors could then spell their name for the clerk.

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