The name Rottumeroog means literally 'Island of Rottum', after the village of Rottum on the mainland of Groningen. The Benedictine St. Juliana's Abbey in Rottum used to own two-thirds of the island and used it for their livestock. After the Protestant Reformation the island's rights transferred to the province Groningen before being sold to private persons in the 17th century. The province bought the island back in 1738 due to back maintenance, eventually the central government took over. Until 1965 the island was inhabited by a "vogt" and his family; since then the island has been uninhabited.