Stroud History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms 

Origins Available: 
  England 


The illustrious surname Stroud is classified as a habitation surname, which was originally derived from a place-name, and is one form of surname belonging to a broader group called hereditary surnames. Habitation names were derived from pre-existing names for towns, villages, parishes, or farmsteads. Topographic names, form the other broad category of surnames that was given to a person who resided near a physical feature such as a hill, stream, church, or type of tree.

Other local names are derived from the names of houses, manors, estates, regions, and entire counties. As a general rule, the greater the distance between an individual and their homeland, the larger the territory they were named after. For example, a person who only moved to another parish would be known by the name of their original village, while people who migrated to a different country were often known by the name of a region or country from which they came. Stroud is a place-name from in Stroud, a parish in Gloucestershire or from Strood, a parish in Kent.

Early Origins of the Stroud family

The surname Stroud was first found in Somerset where they were descended from the Alain, the Duke of Bretagne who arrived in England with William the Conqueror in 1066 A.D. The first to be granted lands was Sir Warinus Strode, Lord of Strode in Dorset, whose lands also pervaded Somerset. The Devon branch were originally from Strode, in the parish of Ermington, where Adam de Strode the first recorded ancestor was seated in the reign of Henry III. 1

Early History of the Stroud family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Stroud research. Another 126 words (9 lines of text) covering the years 1249, 1290, 1350, 1360, 1400, 1480, 1522, 1561, 1589, 1597, 1598, 1600, 1624, 1626, 1637, 1638, 1643, 1645, 1660, 1666, 1676, 1685, 1689, 1690, 1707, 1750 and 1771 are included under the topic Early Stroud History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Stroud Spelling Variations

Since the Old and Middle English languages lacked definite spelling rules, Breton surnames have many spelling variations. Latin and French, which were the official court languages, were also influential on the spelling of surnames. The spelling of surnames was rarely consistent in medieval times, and scribes and church officials recorded names as they sounded rather than adhering to any specific spelling rules. Therefore, it was common to find the same individual referred to with different spellings of their surname in the ancient chronicles. Moreover, a large number of foreign names were brought into England after the Norman Conquest, which accelerated and accentuated the alterations to the spelling of various surnames. The name has been spelled Strode, Stroud, Strowd, Stroude, Strowde and others.

Early Notables of the Stroud family

Notable of this family during the Middle Ages was Colonel Strode of Southhill; Ralph Strode (fl. 1350-1400), an English schoolman, fellow of Merton College, Oxford, before 1360; Sir Richard Strode (c. 1480-1522), English tinner and British Member of Parliament for Plympton Erle, Devon; and Richard Strode (1638-1707), British Member of Parliament for Plympton Erle from 1685-1689 and 1690; William Strode (1598-1645), an English politician who sat in the House of Commons...
Another 70 words (5 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Stroud Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Stroud Ranking

In the United States, the name Stroud is the 1,264th most popular surname with an estimated 24,870 people with that name. 2


Stroud migration to the United States +

Some of the first immigrants to cross the Atlantic and come to North America carried the name Stroud, or a variant listed above:

Stroud Settlers in United States in the 17th Century
Stroud Settlers in United States in the 18th Century
Stroud Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Stroud migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Stroud Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century

Stroud migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Stroud Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Stroud migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

Stroud Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Stroud migration to West Indies +

The British first settled the British West Indies around 1604. They made many attempts but failed in some to establish settlements on the Islands including Saint Lucia and Grenada. By 1627 they had managed to establish settlements on St. Kitts (St. Christopher) and Barbados, but by 1641 the Spanish had moved in and destroyed some of these including those at Providence Island. The British continued to expand the settlements including setting the First Federation in the British West Indies by 1674; some of the islands include Barbados, Bermuda, Cayman Island, Turks and Caicos, Jamaica and Belize then known as British Honduras. By the 1960's many of the islands became independent after the West Indies Federation which existed from 1958 to 1962 failed due to internal political conflicts. After this a number of Eastern Caribbean islands formed a free association. 11
Stroud Settlers in West Indies in the 17th Century

Contemporary Notables of the name Stroud (post 1700) +


The Stroud Motto +

The motto was originally a war cry or slogan. Mottoes first began to be shown with arms in the 14th and 15th centuries, but were not in general use until the 17th century. Thus the oldest coats of arms generally do not include a motto. Mottoes seldom form part of the grant of arms: Under most heraldic authorities, a motto is an optional component of the coat of arms, and can be added to or changed at will; many families have chosen not to display a motto.

Motto: Hyeme viresco
Motto Translation: I flourish (or am green) in winter.


Suggested Readings for the name Stroud +
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