Strode
A mainly locational surname, originally used for someone from a place called Strode or Stroud.
The #9,734 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 92,689 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The name is best understood as a place-name surname, from a locality called Strode, Stroud, or Strood. Historical sources connect it especially with places in Devon, Gloucestershire, Kent, and Dorset, and medieval forms such as "atte Strode" show it was used as a topographic or locational byname. The place-name itself is usually linked to Old English roots meaning a marshy or overgrown place, though the exact source place may vary by family.
History
Medieval records show the surname in forms like "atte Strode" in the 14th century, which fits the common English pattern of naming people after where they lived or came from. Later genealogical tradition sometimes attached the family to specific estates or even noble descent, but those claims are not uniform and should be treated cautiously. The name appears in several regional lines in England and later in English-speaking countries.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Some early records spell the name both with and without the preposition, as in "atte Strode," a very common medieval style that literally meant "at the Strode."
From the historical record
“'stripling.' STRODE, a M.E. form of Stroud, q.v. STRONG \ (Eng.) Powerful, Hard, STRONGE J S-E.WEKE.\U.E.strong{e,strang{e, O.E. Strang^ STRONG BOW (Eng.) a nickname[O.E. Strang, strong + boga, a bow] Ranulf Strongbowe.— HmmA Rolls.”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)