English Place-name Society

Survey of English Place-Names

A county-by-county guide to the linguistic origins of England’s place-names – a project of the English Place-Name Society, founded 1923.

Stroud

Major Settlement in the Parish of Stroud

Historical Forms

  • (la) Strode 13 ADiii 1200 ChR 1221 Ass 1243 HMCv Ed1 BM 1287 Ass 1540 MinAcct
  • Strod(a) 1232 Cl 1248 Ass
  • Strowde 1542 LP c.1560 Surv 1698 PR
  • Stroud(e) 1652 ParlSurv 1694 PR
  • Strood(e) 1561 FF 1592 PR

Etymology

'Marshy land overgrown with brushwood', v. strōd , and for the modern form, which is a spelling-pronunciation based on the form Strowde , cf. EPN ii, 164, Phonol. § 28. The name doubtless referred to a plot of marshy ground near the confluence of the R. Frome and Stroud Water.