Stroup
A surname most likely from a German or Dutch name for someone from a reed bed, marsh, or thicket.
The #4,650 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 40,481 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Stroup is generally treated as a Germanic surname related to words like German and Dutch "Strauch" or dialect forms meaning a bush, thicket, or tangled growth. In some cases it may also reflect a topographic nickname for someone who lived by scrubland, marshy ground, or a brush-covered place. The exact path is not always clear because the spelling has shifted over time and across regions.
History
The name appears in North American records chiefly among families of German and Dutch background, where spellings were often adapted to local pronunciation. In the United States it is now an established but relatively uncommon surname, with several unrelated family lines possible. Like many immigrant surnames, its present spelling may preserve an older dialect form that no longer survives in standard modern spelling.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Because the spelling is so close to the English word "stroop," people sometimes assume a Dutch connection to syrup, but the surname is more likely tied to a landscape word than to food.