Strait
A surname usually linked to “strait” in the sense of a narrow pass, channel, or tight place, and sometimes influenced by the spelling of “straight.”
The #5,352 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 47,463 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Strait is most likely a surname taken from the common noun "strait," meaning a narrow place, channel, or pass. That word goes back through Anglo-Norman and Old French forms to Latin roots connected with being narrow or confined. In surname use, it would have suited someone living by a narrow waterway or a defile, or someone associated with such a place.
History
The word was often confused in later spelling with "straight," so the surname sometimes appears with variant spellings shaped by that familiar word. Historical surname references in English and Scottish works treat it as a name formed from a topographical term rather than from a personal name. The modern bearer count is modest in the United States, but the name has long been established in English-speaking records.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Older spelling traditions sometimes let "strait" and "straight" overlap, which is why the surname can look like it ought to mean "upright" even when it originally referred to a narrow place.
From the historical record
“KYLE. A topographical term implying a sound or strait. Jamieson. KYME. The founder of this lamily founded also the Priory of Bolinton, co. Lincoln, temp. King Stephen. The Kymes " assumed tlie surname from a fair lord-”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United KingdomNotable people named Strait
- George Strait (b. 1952)
Sourced from Wikidata; linked to their Wikipedia page.