Show ContentsTrude History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

This surname is derived from the name of an ancestor as in 'the son of Troit' or Trote or Troyt. The nursery rhyme "Dame Trot and her Cat" is English with various versions in print over the years. "The name is frequently found in the Exchequer Lay Subsidies, Somerset." 1

Other sources claims the name is derived from the Anglo-Saxon word Trot, meaning "beloved, dear, friend" 2 while another claims the name denotes "descendant of Trott (defiance)" 3

Early Origins of the Trude family

The surname Trude was first found in Surrey where Walter and Robert Trot were recorded in the Pipe Rolls for 1206 and later in the Curia Regis Rolls for Berkshire. William le Trot was listed in the Subsidy Rolls for Sussex in 1327. 4

The Pipe Rolls, or Sheriff's Annual Accounts of the Counties of Cumberland, Westmorland and Durham during the reigns of Henry II, Richard I and John list Robert filius Trote, 1165 and Richard filius Truite, 1179. 1

In Somerset, early records there show Nicholas Truhyt, Thomas Troht, Robert Trote, Thomas Trut and Robert Tryut. All records were entered 1 Edward III (during the first year of Edward III's reign.) 5 Jefthe French Trote was bailiff of Yarmouth, Norfolk in 1340. 6

"The Trotts are now established in the neighbouring districts of Honiton and Cullompton [,Devon]. John Trott, one of the martyrs of Monmouth's rebellion in 1685, died on the scaffold at Bridgewater." 7

Early History of the Trude family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Trude research. Another 107 words (8 lines of text) covering the years 1327, 1455, 1483, 1487, 1515, 1524 and 1619 are included under the topic Early Trude History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Trude Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Trott, Trot, Troat, Troth, Troath, Trotman and others.

Early Notables of the Trude family

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


United States Trude migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Trude Settlers in United States in the 18th Century
  • Thomas Trude, who landed in New England in 1732 8
Trude Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • Isham Trude, who arrived in America in 1856 8

Contemporary Notables of the name Trude (post 1700) +

  • Trude Gundersen (b. 1977), Norwegian Olympic medalist in taekwondo
  • Trude Feldman (1924-2022), American reporter, columnist, and member of the White House Press Corps and State Department Press Corps who regularly wrote for McCall's magazine and for The New York Times Syndicate, she interviewed every U.S. president since Lyndon B. Johnson


  1. Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
  2. Harrison, Henry, Surnames of the United Kingdom: A Concise Etymological Dictionary Baltimore: Geneological Publishing Company, 2013. Print
  3. Smith, Eldson Coles, New Dictionary of American Family Names New York: Harper & Row, 1956. Print
  4. Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
  5. 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.
  6. Rye, Walter, A History of Norfolk. London: Elliot Stock, 62, Paternoster Row, 1885. Print
  7. Guppy, Henry Brougham, Homes of Family Names in Great Britain. 1890. Print.
  8. 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)


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