Trout
Usually an English nickname surname from the fish, though some old sources also treat it as a variant of Trott.
The #2,826 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 24,200 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Most historical surname writers explain Trout as a nickname taken from the fish, used for someone thought to resemble it in some way or perhaps as a playful byname. The word is the same as the common English fish name, ultimately from Old English and Latin forms cited in older dictionaries. A minority of older scholarship also connects some Trout spellings with Trott/Trot, so the surname may not have a single origin in every case.
History
The name is recorded in medieval England, including a 1379 Yorkshire poll-tax reference. Nineteenth-century writers also noted related forms such as Bucktrout and suggested that some West Country instances may be tied to the older personal name Troyt/Trott rather than the fish. It is therefore best treated as an English surname with more than one possible historical pathway.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Bucktrout was specifically glossed by one old writer as a humorous nickname meaning something like 'male trout.'
From the historical record
“TROUT (Teut.) a var. ot Trott, q.v. (occ.) (A.-Lat.) a nickname from the fish so called [O.E. triilit, Lat. tructd] Thomas Trout. — Yorks Poll-Tax, A.D. 1379. The surname Bucktrout occurs. TROUTBECK (N.Eng. or Scand.) Bel. to Troutbeck (Westmd. : 13th cent.Troutbek ; Cumbd. : 14th cent. Trutbek) = the Trout-”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)