Stout
A surname originally meaning “bold” or “courageous,” later also used for a stockier or more robust person.
The #798 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 7,130 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The surname Stout comes from an old descriptive word meaning bold, strong, or proud. Historical dictionaries trace it to a Germanic root seen in Old French estout and related forms in Old Low German, Dutch, and German, all carrying the sense of firmness, bravery, or strength. In later English, the word also came to describe a person of sturdy or heavy build, which may have reinforced the surname as a nickname.
History
Early surname studies often gloss Stout as a sobriquet for a valiant or courageous man, and that remains the core explanation in older authorities. By the Middle Ages and later, the same word could also suggest physical sturdiness, so the name may have been attached to different kinds of “stout” people in different places. The surname is well established in English-speaking countries and is especially common in the United States today.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Older surname writers explicitly noted that Stout is not related to the beer name, even though the coincidence amused them.
From the historical record
“Conf. with Sturton, q.v. STOUT 1 (A.-Fr.-Teut.) Bold, Strong, STOUTE / Proud; (later) Corpulent [O.Fr. esto{u)t, stout, bold ; O.L.Ger. stolt = Du,t. stout, bold = Ger. stols, proud] STOVEL ] (Fr.) Bel. to Estouteville (Seine- STOVELL Inferieure), anc. Estoteville [Fr.”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)