Stroh
A German surname from the word for “straw,” likely first used for someone associated with straw or straw-working.
The #7,012 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 64,632 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Stroh is the German word for “straw.” As a surname, it was most likely applied either to someone who dealt in straw, worked with straw goods or bedding, or perhaps lived near a place marked by straw or stubble. It belongs to a common German pattern of names taken directly from everyday nouns.
History
The name is well attested in German-speaking areas and is also found among German immigrants in North America. Historical surname writers often grouped it with other German names drawn from common objects, foods, and materials. In English-speaking records it may sometimes appear in immigrant communities as a straightforward retained German surname.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
19th- and early-20th-century surname writers explicitly glossed Stroh as “straw,” showing how transparent the meaning was to German speakers.
From the historical record
“Rackstraw, Rackstray. D. Rock- i stroh ; a p.n. Radcliffe. A loc., n. Notts Radford. A loc. n., Devon, Notts I : Radley. A loc. n., Notts, Staffs Radmall. From Rathmell ; a loc. i:”
— British Family Names: their origin and meaning (2nd ed.)