Strait History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Ireland

The name Strait is an old Anglo-Saxon name. It comes from when a family lived in any of a number of places called Street, in Herefordshire, Kent and Somerset. 1

Strait is a local surname, which belongs to the category of hereditary surnames. Other types of local surnames include topographic surnames, which could be given to a person who lived beside any physical feature, such as a hill, stream, church or type of tree. Habitation names form the other broad category of surnames that were derived from place-names. They were derived from pre-existing names for towns, villages, parishes, or farmsteads. Other local names are derived from the names of houses, manors, estates, regions, and entire counties. The surname Strait comes from the Old English word stræt, which means Roman road. In the Middle Ages, this word came to denote the main street in a village, and so the surname may also refer to someone who lived on the main street. 2 3

Early Origins of the Strait family

The surname Strait was first found in Devon where they held a family seat from ancient times, but by the Hundredorum Rolls of 1273, the name had scattered throughout ancient Britain as those rolls include: Alice de la Strete, Oxfordshire and Alexander de la Strete, Kent. 4

Kirby's Quest listed John atte Strete, Somerset, 1 Edward III (during the first year's reign of Edward III) 5 and the Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379 listed Elyas del Strete and Alicia del Strete as holding lands there at that time. 4

Some of the family emigrated to Ireland where the name was typically spelt Estrete or Strete and typically were found in Louth and Meath. We note that John Estrete, or Strete (died after 1511) was an Irish judge, author, law lecturer and statesman who held the offices of King's Serjeant, Deputy Chief Baron of the Irish Exchequer, and Master of the Coinage of Ireland.

Early History of the Strait family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Strait research. Another 81 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1600, 1621, 1624, 1625, 1650, 1653, 1666, 1670, 1679, 1680, 1689 and 1696 are included under the topic Early Strait History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Strait Spelling Variations

Before the last few hundred years, the English language had no fast system of spelling rules. For that reason, spelling variations are commonly found in early Anglo-Saxon surnames. Over the years, many variations of the name Strait were recorded, including Street, Streat, Strethe, Strete and others.

Early Notables of the Strait family

Notables of the family at this time include Thomas Street (Streete) (1621-1689), an early English astronomer, best known for his book "Astronomia Carolina, a new theorie of Coelestial Motions" which was used as a reference for many years having at least three editions, eponym of the Street lunar crater.William Streat (1600?-1666), was an English divine, born in Devonshire. Thomas Street (1625-1696), was an English judge and politician from Worcester; Robert Streater (1621-1679), an English landscape, history, still-life and portrait artist, architectural painter and etcher, Serjeant Painter to King Charles II; and John Streater (fl. 1650-1670), was an...
Another 97 words (7 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Strait Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Strait Ranking

In the United States, the name Strait is the 5,081^st most popular surname with an estimated 4,974 people with that name. 6

Migration of the Strait family to Ireland

Some of the Strait family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 30 words (2 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Strait migration to the United States +

To escape oppression and starvation at that time, many English families left for the "open frontiers" of the New World with all its perceived opportunities. In droves people migrated to the many British colonies, those in North America in particular, paying high rates for passages in cramped, unsafe ships. Although many of the settlers did not make the long passage alive, those who did see the shores of North America perceived great opportunities before them. Many of the families that came from England went on to make essential contributions to the emerging nations of Canada and the United States. Research into various historical records revealed some of first members of the Strait family emigrate to North America:

Strait Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Mary Strait, who arrived in Virginia in 1695 7

Strait Settlers in United States in the 20th Century

Charles Strait, aged 21, who arrived in New York in 1919 aboard the ship "Charles Braley" from Port Said, Egypt 8
Alma Strait, aged 35, who arrived in New York in 1921 aboard the ship "Stockholm" from Gothenburg, Sweden 8

Contemporary Notables of the name Strait (post 1700) +

George Harvey Strait Sr. (b. 1952), American multiple award winning country music singer, songwriter, actor, and music producer, often called the "King of Country Music", inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame, sold more than 120 million records worldwide and had 44 number one singles
Ralph Strait (1936-1992), American actor, best known for his role in the 1982 film The Beastmaster
Lynn Strait (1968-1998), born James Lynn Strait, an American singer and songwriter
Horace B. Strait (1835-1894), American politician, U.S. Representative from Minnesota (1883-1887)
Harold G. Strait (1898-1983), American president of the Appalachian Thruway Association of Tioga County, Pennsylvania
Edward M. Strait (1930-2008), American labor leader, President of the Amalgamated Council of Greyhound Local Unions
Derrick Lee Strait (b. 1980), American football player
Christopher Alan "Chris" Strait (b. 1976), American comedian and writer
Brian Strait (b. 1988), American NHL and AHL ice hockey defenseman
Bob Strait (b. 1949), American stock car racing driver
... (Another 5 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Citations +

Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
Smith, Eldson Coles, New Dictionary of American Family Names New York: Harper & Row, 1956. Print
Harrison, Henry, Surnames of the United Kingdom: A Concise Etymological Dictionary Baltimore: Geneological Publishing Company, 2013. Print
Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
Dickinson, F.H., Kirby's Quest for Somerset of 16th of Edward the 3rd London: Harrison and Sons, Printers in Ordinary to Her Majesty, St, Martin's Lane, 1889. Print.
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
Ellis Island Search retrieved 15th November 2022. Retrieved from https://heritage.statueofliberty.org/passenger-result