STRAHAN
Strahan is a surname of Gaelic and Scottish origin. The name is associated with a particular geographic feature – a wide river valley – and typically indicates that the earliest bearer of the name came from a valley that bore a similar name in the British Isles.
In Scotland the surname is traditionally linked to the lands of Strachan in Kincardineshire. The Gaelic root *strath* meaning a valley is combined with *eachain*, a diminutive of *each* meaning horse, which gives the literal sense of “the valley of the horses.” The first recorded forms of the name appear in the early sixteenth century and earlier: Stratheuchin in 1203 in the Registers of Aberbrothock Abbey, Strachean around 1220 in Dunfermline, and later a spelling of Strahin in 1494. A notable bearer was David Straughin, Procurator of the Scottish “Nation” at the University of Oriental in 1512.
The Irish derivation of the surname is from the Gaelic patronymic *Ó Sraitháin*, meaning “descendant of Sraithán.” The root *srath* denotes a long stretch or a broad valley, again emphasising the geographic nature of the name. Consequently, the name may equally be identified with families who lived near a visually significant valley in Ireland.
Throughout the medieval and early modern periods the spelling of the surname varied widely. Variants documented in Scotland and Ireland include Strachan, Strachan, Stachan, Stranghann, Straghan, Straughan, and Strain, the latter being common in Northern Ireland. In addition, the form Mac Strachan, an anglicised version of the Gaelic *Mac an tSagairt*, rose to prominence in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries.
In contemporary times the surname remains common in the United Kingdom, ranking 511th among the most frequently occurring surnames. In the United States the name is less common, ranking 3796th, yet there are over 17,000 persons bearing it. Australia sees a relatively high concentration, especially in the states of Western Australia, Queensland, New South Wales, and Victoria, where the name appears in the top four hundred surnames. The persistence of the name in these regions can be traced back to the late eighteenth century, when early settlers carried it across the seas during the period of British colonisation.
Other occasional spellings that have been recorded include Stracan, Strachin, Strahan, Strachan, and Strahon. These variations reflect differences in dialect, phonetic spelling, and the process of anglicisation that took place over the centuries.
The surname Strahan illustrates the importance of place in the formation of family names across the Celtic world. Its survival into the modern era attests to the enduring strength of the linguistic heritage that links present‑day bearers to the broad valleys of their ancestors.
Typical given names associated with the Strahan surname
Male
- Andrew
- Clayton
- David
- James
- Jason
- John
- Michael
- Paul
- Philip
- Robert
- Samuel
- William
Female
- Alison
- Anne
- Barbara
- Dorothy
- Elizabeth
- Evelyn
- Hayley
- Jennifer
- Karen
- Lucy
- Margaret
- Sarah
- Sheila
- Susan
Similar and related surnames
Related and similar names are generated algorithmically based on the spelling, and may not necessarily share an etymology.
How to communicate the surname Strahan in...
Braille
⠎⠞⠗⠁⠓⠁⠝
Morse
...-.-..-.....--.
Semaphore
There are approximately 242 people named Strahan in the UK. That makes it one of Britain's least common surnames. Only around four in a million people in Britain are named Strahan.
Origin: Celtic
Region of origin: British Isles
Country of origin: Ireland
Religion of origin: Christian
Language of origin: Gaelic
Famous people named Strahan
- Michael Strahan - Former American football player, current NFL analyst and TV-host
- William Strahan - Politician and printer (1715 to 1785)
- William Strahan - Cricketer (1807 to 1886)
- George Strahan - Military officer and colonial administrator (1838 to 1887)
- Thomas Strahan - American politician (1847 to 1910)
Names and descriptions courtesy of Wikipedia, and may contain errors. This is not intended to be an exhaustive list of every famous person with this name.