Stribling

Etymology

This surname is usually explained as a voiced spelling of Stripling, a nickname built from Middle English "stripling" meaning a young man or youth. The word is commonly taken to come from Old English roots connected with "strip" or "stroke," plus a diminutive ending, giving the sense of a small or slender person. The name therefore began as a descriptive byname rather than a place-name or occupation.

History

Nineteenth- and early twentieth-century surname writers generally treated Stribling as a variant of Stripling, and Harrison specifically glossed it as a voiced form of that name. It appears in English records and later in the United States, where it has remained an uncommon surname. Some older sources also connect related forms with other local or phonetic spellings, so the exact pathway may vary by family line.

Origin

Regions

Variant spellings

Fun fact

Because the surname is tied to a nickname for a young or slight person, it belongs to the same broad class of surnames as Boy, Young, and Little.

Related surnames