Trow

Recorded at various times in a wide range of spellings including Trew, Trewer, Trow, Trowe, Trower, and the eclectic spellings of Truor, Trahar, and Trohear, this is an English surname. It has two possible origins. The first being a nickname for a trustworthy person. This is from the Olde English pre 7th century 'treowe' meaning steadfast or trustworthy, whilst the second origin is topographical, and describes a person who lived near a 'trow'. This was a hollow or depression in the ground, and as found in the place name Trowbridge. The surname is very early being 12th Century, (see below), and examples of the recordings include: Roger Trowe, in the rolls known as 'Curia Regis', for Wiltshire in the year 1200, and William Trewe in the Subsidy Tax Rolls of Yorkshire in 1310. Other examples are those of Edmunde Trowe, who married Allyce Wyles on October 12th 1572, at Sunbury on Thames, Elizabeth Trower, who married Jeffrey Clarke at Uxbridge church, Middlesex, on April 28th 1574, and John Trow, christened at St. Stephan's church, Coleman St, city of London, on August 3rd 1600. The first recorded spelling of the family name is believed to be that of Ralph Truwe. This was dated 1185, in the register of the Knight Templars (Crusaders) of Kent", during the reign of King Henry 11 of England, 1154 - 1189. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.