Schroeder
A German occupational surname meaning “tailor,” with spelling variants shaped by umlauts and regional dialects.
The #489 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 4,542 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Schroeder is a German occupational surname, ultimately tied to words meaning “to cut” and to tailoring. The historical forms point to the same family of names as Schneider, with regional spellings such as Schroder, Schroter, and Schroeter. In older German and Dutch usage, the name could function as a local term for a tailor or cloth-cutter.
History
The name is well attested in German and Low German naming traditions and appears in Dutch and Frisian contexts as well. In English-language surname books of the 19th and early 20th centuries, it is regularly glossed as a tailor’s name. Modern American usage reflects immigration from German-speaking regions, with Schroeder becoming the standard spelling in the United States.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Some older sources explicitly group Schroeder with names for tailors and cite related dialect forms still used in parts of Friesland.
From the historical record
“snidan, to cut] SCHRODER SCHROEDER SCHROETER SCHROTER (Ger.) Cutter .[f. Ger. schroten, M.H.Ger. schrdten, O.H.Ger. scrotan, to cut]”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)