Trost
A surname from words meaning “comfort” or “trust,” found in German, Dutch, and related European naming traditions.
The #8,385 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 78,203 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The surname is usually connected with Germanic words for “comfort,” “consolation,” or “trust.” The cited sources link it especially to German Trost and Dutch Troost, and some older scholarship also points to older Germanic forms meaning “trusty” or “firm.” In some cases it may also reflect a nickname or a devotional name built from this positive idea rather than a direct occupational label.
History
The name appears in German- and Dutch-speaking areas and was recorded in various spellings such as Trost and Troost. Older onomastic works also compare it with related forms in Scandinavian and Anglo-Saxon material, though those explanations are not always straightforward. In English-language records, Trost is usually treated as an immigrant surname from continental Europe rather than a native English one.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
In older surname dictionaries, Trost is often glossed simply as “comfort,” which makes it one of those surnames with a very positive literal sense.
From the historical record
“TROSTON (A.-Scand.) Bel. to Troston (Suff.), the A.-Sax. Trosting\a\tiin = the Estate OF THE Trost(a Family [the pers. name is a form of O.N. traiist-r, trusty, firm ; f. traust(MoA. Scand. trost, comfort), help, protection -f -inga, genit. pi. of the fil. suff. -ing + tun, estate, etc.]”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)