This is an English residential surname, recorded in the spellings of Street, Streeter, Streat, Streeten, and Streeting. It is of ancient origins, and dates back to Roman times. It derives from the word 'straet', an Olde English word but a variant of the Latin 'strassa' and describing either one who came from one of the villages called 'Street', in the counties of Somerset, Kent and Hereford, or it is a local description for one who lived on the village street, or in the case of Streeten and Streeting, refers to one who lived at 'the end of the street'. Similar descriptive surnames referring to points within a village are Green, Gate or Yate, and Townsend. All the places called 'Street' are adjacent to or on Roman roads, so the name is perhaps more specific and may describe one who lived on a Roman road. There are some very early recordings. These include William de la Stret in the 1228 rolls of Devon, this county being at the end of the famous Fosse way which ran from Lincoln to Exeter, and Richard del Strete of Somerset, where both the Fosse and the Great West Road, passed through. Later examples taken from the church registers include John Strete, who married Judith Stubbings at St Johns Hackney, on June 24th 1640, whilst another John Streete, was christened at the same church on October 10th 1580. John Streeting was a witness at St Mary's Harmondsworth on March 25th 1695, whilst Margaret Streetin was christened at St George's in the East, Stepney, on March 29th 1753. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Roger Stret, which was dated 1197, in the Pipe Rolls of the county of Norfolk, during the reign of King Richard 1st, known as 'The Lionheart', 1189 - 1199. 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.

© Copyright: Name Origin Research 1980 - 2024