Schroder
A German occupational surname meaning “tailor,” from an older word for cutting or trimming cloth.
The #6,392 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 57,980 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Schroder is a German occupational surname tied to an old verb meaning “to cut” or “to trim.” Historical sources connect it with Middle High German and Old High German forms meaning cutting, and with older regional words for a tailor. In that sense, the name likely began as a byname for someone who cut cloth—essentially a tailor or cloth-cutter.
History
The name and its spelling variants are well attested in German-speaking areas, especially in forms such as Schröder, Schroeter, and Schroter. It belongs to a broad class of surnames formed from medieval trades, many of which later became hereditary family names. The surname also appears in Dutch and Frisian-related spellings, reflecting the spread of the same occupational word across northern Germany and neighboring regions.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
A 1912 surname dictionary glossed Schroder simply as “Cutter,” showing how closely the name was linked to the cloth-cutting trade.
From the historical record
“schneiden, M.H.Ger. sniden, O.H.Ger. snidan, to cut] SCHRODER SCHROEDER SCHROETER SCHROTER (Ger.) Cutter .[f. Ger. schroten, M.H.Ger. schrdten, O.H.Ger. scrotan, to cut]”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)