diff --git a/gtsam/geometry/Rot3.h b/gtsam/geometry/Rot3.h
index 6fb3aea8a..980d35de1 100644
--- a/gtsam/geometry/Rot3.h
+++ b/gtsam/geometry/Rot3.h
@@ -79,12 +79,12 @@ namespace gtsam {
     Rot3();
 
     /**
-     * Constructor from columns
+     * Constructor from *columns*
      * @param r1 X-axis of rotated frame
      * @param r2 Y-axis of rotated frame
      * @param r3 Z-axis of rotated frame
      */
-    Rot3(const Point3& r1, const Point3& r2, const Point3& r3);
+    Rot3(const Point3& col1, const Point3& col2, const Point3& col3);
 
     /** constructor from a rotation matrix, as doubles in *row-major* order !!! */
     Rot3(double R11, double R12, double R13,
@@ -97,9 +97,6 @@ namespace gtsam {
     /** constructor from a rotation matrix */
     Rot3(const Matrix& R);
 
-//    /** constructor from a fixed size rotation matrix */
-//    Rot3(const Matrix3& R);
-
     /** Constructor from a quaternion.  This can also be called using a plain
      * Vector, due to implicit conversion from Vector to Quaternion
      * @param q The quaternion
diff --git a/gtsam/geometry/Rot3M.cpp b/gtsam/geometry/Rot3M.cpp
index 03e7c0e0d..99c5c619e 100644
--- a/gtsam/geometry/Rot3M.cpp
+++ b/gtsam/geometry/Rot3M.cpp
@@ -36,10 +36,10 @@ static const Matrix3 I3 = Matrix3::Identity();
 Rot3::Rot3() : rot_(Matrix3::Identity()) {}
 
 /* ************************************************************************* */
-Rot3::Rot3(const Point3& r1, const Point3& r2, const Point3& r3) {
-  rot_.col(0) = r1.vector();
-  rot_.col(1) = r2.vector();
-  rot_.col(2) = r3.vector();
+Rot3::Rot3(const Point3& col1, const Point3& col2, const Point3& col3) {
+  rot_.col(0) = col1.vector();
+  rot_.col(1) = col2.vector();
+  rot_.col(2) = col3.vector();
 }
 
 /* ************************************************************************* */
diff --git a/gtsam/geometry/Rot3Q.cpp b/gtsam/geometry/Rot3Q.cpp
index 4836e8680..26890c370 100644
--- a/gtsam/geometry/Rot3Q.cpp
+++ b/gtsam/geometry/Rot3Q.cpp
@@ -32,11 +32,11 @@ namespace gtsam {
   Rot3::Rot3() : quaternion_(Quaternion::Identity()) {}
 
   /* ************************************************************************* */
-  Rot3::Rot3(const Point3& r1, const Point3& r2, const Point3& r3) :
+  Rot3::Rot3(const Point3& col1, const Point3& col2, const Point3& col3) :
       quaternion_((Eigen::Matrix3d() <<
-          r1.x(), r2.x(), r3.x(),
-          r1.y(), r2.y(), r3.y(),
-          r1.z(), r2.z(), r3.z()).finished()) {}
+          col1.x(), col2.x(), col3.x(),
+          col1.y(), col2.y(), col3.y(),
+          col1.z(), col2.z(), col3.z()).finished()) {}
 
   /* ************************************************************************* */
   Rot3::Rot3(double R11, double R12, double R13,