Streit History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Germany

The name Streit was brought to England in the great wave of migration following the Norman Conquest of 1066. The Streit family lived in Wiltshire, at Stratton. However, there are also parishes in Cornwall, Dorset, Gloucestershire, Norfolk, Buckinghamshire, Hampshire, and Somerset also named Stratton.

The reason for the many parishes so named is because of the etymology of the surname as in "one who came from Stratton (homestead on a Roman road.)" 1 However down in Cornwall, in Cornish the name literally means "the hill full of fresh springs." 2

Early Origins of the Streit family

The surname Streit was first found in Wiltshire where it is said that the notorious Adam de Stratton derives from Argouges from Manche in the arrondisement of Avranches in Normandy.

Adam de Stratton (died 1292) was a royal moneylender, administrator and clergyman under Edward I of England. He rose to become Chamberlain of the Exchequer and steward of Isabella, Countess of Devon. His father was Thomas de Argoges, or Arwillis, of Stratton St Margaret in Wiltshire. In 1278, he was accused of cutting off the seal of a charter from Quarr Abbey, thereby invalidating its authenticity. This was not the beginning nor the last time he would be associated with dubious activities. On 17 January 1290, he was relieved of his office of chamberlain, along with his temporal possessions. Upon his arrest, he was discovered to have in his possession a vast sum of money and objects associated with witchcraft. He was imprisoned in the Tower of London in 1292 and died by 14 August 1294.

Henry de Stratton (died after 1277) was an English clergyman and Crown official who later served as a judge in Ireland. He is chiefly remembered as the brother of the infamous Adam de Stratton.

Stratton is a parish in Cornwall in the deanery of Trigg-Major, and in the hundred to which this parish imparts its name. "This circumstance denotes its great antiquity, and discovers that in former ages it presented no contemptible figure on the rolls of fame." 3

Robert de Stretton (died 1385), an English divine, born at Stretton Magna, Leicestershire was Bishop of Coventry and Lichfield and son of Robert Eyryk or de Stretton. "He and his elder brother, Sir William Eyryk, knight (ancestor of the Heyricks of Leicestershire), derived their surnames from Stretton Magna. " 4

Early History of the Streit family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Streit research. Another 175 words (12 lines of text) covering the years 1285, 1320 and 1364 are included under the topic Early Streit History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Streit Spelling Variations

Norman surnames are characterized by a multitude of spelling variations. The frequent changes in surnames are largely due to the fact that the Old and Middle English languages lacked definite spelling rules. The introduction of Norman French to England, as well as the official court languages of Latin and French, also had pronounced influences on the spelling of surnames. Since medieval scribes and church officials recorded names as they sounded, rather than adhering to any specific spelling rules, it was common to find the same individual referred to with different spellings. The name has been spelled Stratton, Straton, Straiton and others.

Early Notables of the Streit family

More information is included under the topic Early Streit Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Streit Ranking

In the United States, the name Streit is the 9,895^th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 5

Streit migration to the United States +

Many English families emigrated to North American colonies in order to escape the political chaos in Britain at this time. Unfortunately, many English families made the trip to the New World under extremely harsh conditions. Overcrowding on the ships caused the majority of the immigrants to arrive diseased, famished, and destitute from the long journey across the stormy Atlantic. Despite these hardships, many of the families prospered and went on to make invaluable contributions to the development of the cultures of the United States and Canada. Early North American immigration records have revealed a number of people bearing the name Streit or a variant listed above:

Streit Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Christian Streit, who arrived in New Jersey in 1709 6
Kristiaan Streit, who landed in New York in 1709 6
Magdalena Streit, who arrived in New York in 1709-1710 6
Godfried Streit, who landed in New York in 1758 6
Johann Georg Streit, who arrived in America in 1783 6

Contemporary Notables of the name Streit (post 1700) +

Clarence Kirschmann Streit (1896-1986), American journalist who played a prominent role in the Atlanticist and world federalist movements
William M. Streit (1875-1941), American Republican politician, Mayor of Mt. Clemens, Michigan, 1923-31; Candidate for Michigan State Senate 11th District, 1932 7
Saul S. Streit, American Democratic Party politician, Member of New York State Assembly from New York County 7th District, 1927-36; Justice of New York Supreme Court 1st District, 1955-68 7
Mary Streit, American Republican politician, Vice-chair of Michigan Republican Party, 1949-51; Alternate Delegate to Republican National Convention from Michigan, 1952 7
Michael J Streit, appointed an Iowa Supreme Court judge in 2001
Clarance K Streit, author of "Union Now," published in 1938
Richard Streit Hamilton (b. 1943), American mathematician awarded the Steele Prize for Seminal Contribution to Research in 2009

The Streit 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: Resurgere tento
Motto Translation: I strive to rise again.

Citations +

Smith, Eldson Coles, New Dictionary of American Family Names New York: Harper & Row, 1956. Print
Arthur, William , An Etymological Dictionary of Family and Christian Names. London: 1857. Print
Hutchins, Fortescue, The History of Cornwall, from the Earliest Records and Traditions to the Present Time. London: William Penaluna, 1824. Print
Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. 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)
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, November 12) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html