Of all the Anglo-Saxon names to come from Britain, Straight is one of the most ancient. The name is a result of the original family having lived in any of a number of places called Street, in Hertshire, Kent and Somerset. [1]
Straight 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 Straight 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]
The surname Straight 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]
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Straight research. Another 81 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1621, 1689, 1600, 1666, 1625, 1696, 1621, 1679, 1650, 1670, 1650, 1653, 1653, 1624 and 1680 are included under the topic Early Straight History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
The first dictionaries that appeared in the last few hundred years did much to standardize the English language. Before that time, spelling variations in names were a common occurrence. The language was changing, incorporating pieces of other languages, and the spelling of names changed with it. Straight has been spelled many different ways, including Street, Streat, Strethe, Strete and others.
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 Straight Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
In the United States, the name Straight is the 5,018th most popular surname with an estimated 4,974 people with that name. [6]
Some of the Straight 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.
Thousands of English families in this era began to emigrate the New World in search of land and freedom from religious and political persecution. Although the passage was expensive and the ships were dark, crowded, and unsafe, those who made the voyage safely were rewarded with opportunities unavailable to them in their homeland. Research into passenger and immigration lists has revealed some of the very first Straights to arrive in North America:
Some of the first settlers of this family name were: