Straub
A German surname that originally described someone with a rough, tousled, or shaggy appearance.
The #3,691 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 32,081 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Straub is a German nickname surname. The historical evidence points to it being related to words for something rough, bristly, or shaggy, likely describing a person’s hair or overall appearance. Older scholars grouped it with forms such as Strub and Strobel, treating them as surnames based on a physical trait rather than a place name or occupation.
History
The name is documented in medieval Swiss and German records; one cited example places Konrad Straub in Zurich in 1228. Later German surname scholarship treated Straub as part of a wider family of descriptive names that could spawn diminutive or altered forms over time. It is still found today in German-speaking areas and in North American German-descended communities.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
19th-century surname writers often linked Straub with other nicknames for unruly hair, showing how strongly everyday appearance shaped German family names.
From the historical record
“Strangwich. See Strangways Strapp. D. Starup ; or Dch. Straub; p.n. Stratfold. From Stratfield ; a loc. n., Hants Stratford. A loc. n., Oxf., Suff.,”
— British Family Names: their origin and meaning (2nd ed.)