Strowthers

Recorded in several spellings including Strother, Strothers, Struther, Struthers, Strowther, Strowthers, and possibly others, this is either an English or a Scottish surname. It has two possible origins. The first which is essentially English is topographical. It describes a person who lived by marshy ground overgrown with brushwood. This is from the pre 7th century word 'strod', and the Middle English 'strother'. Secondly and definately Anglo-Scottish, it can be locational from any of the various places so named such as Strother in the border county of Northumberland, Struther in Lanarkshire and Struthers in Fife, both Scotland. Although the name is very popular in Scotland, the ultimate origin may be from Northumberland where the ancient family of Strothers were lords of the manor of Kirk-Newton in the barony of Wark-on-the-Tweed. Amongst the early recordings is that of John Strewthers, a court witness in Glasgow in 1555, whilst Alexander Struthers married Janet Strang on August 12th 1697 at Last Kilbride, Lanarkshire. A coat of arms granted to the family at Calderbank, County Lanark, has the blazon of a silver shield, charged with three blue piles issuing from the base, and in chief an eagles head erased proper between two black fleur-de-lis, denoting victory over the French. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was sometimes known as the Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.