This unusual and interesting name has an apparently complex etymology although at first glance it would appear to translate as 'the strong warden' or 'the ward who was a stranger'. If these analyses were correct the name would be Old English however there do not appear to be any early records to support these hypotheses. The nearest 'link' name would seem to be one John Strangwoorth recorded in Stepney in 1682, although a Walter Strangwood was apparently imprisoned in Sussex in 1665 for being associated with the Quakers. The 'modern' spelling first appears in East Anglia in the early 18th Century, without any known recording previously in any county of England. Such instant recording suggest the possibility of either an Anglicization (Huguenot) or a complete dialectal change from a former spelling. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of John Strangward, which was dated February 27th 1727, who married Timothea Knight at Easton, Huntingdonshire, during the reign of King George 1, known as 'Hanover George', 1715 - 1727. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.

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