Surname Struve - Meaning and Origin
all surnames with 'S'
Struve: What does the surname Struve mean?
The last name Struve (also spelled Shtrove, Shtruve, etc.) is derived from a German word meaning "to avenge" or "to revenge." The term was used to refer to people who fought for justice or revenge. In early records, Struve was an occupational name for a bailiff or law official charged with carrying out the judgments of the courts. As surnames became more widespread in Europe during the Middle Ages, Struve became a fixed surname and was found in many different locations.
Today Struve is found in various parts of Europe and North America, and people who share this surname may have diverse backgrounds. In particular, some people of Jewish descent carry the name due to Jewish immigrants who fled to Germany in the 17th and 18th centuries from Eastern Europe. Struve was often adopted as a surname by Jews at the time and can be found in various Jewish family trees today.
The Struve surname is also connected to the scientist Otto Struve (1819- 1905), who is known for many fundamental discoveries in astronomy, including the orbital motion of double stars and his work with spectroscopy. Most indicative of his work are his contributions to the development of measuring stellar parallax, which provided a means to measure the distance to nearby stars. Mankind's earlier Launch of the Hubble Telescope and its discoveries were greatly aided by Struve's pioneering work.
Order DNA origin analysisStruve: Where does the name Struve come from?
The last name Struve can be found around the world today, although it is most common in Northern and Central Europe. The highest concentrations of the last name are found in Germany, Sweden, and Denmark. In Germany, Struve is the 205th most common last name, appearing in 1 in 2,395 people. In Sweden, it is the 258th most common last name and appears in 1 in 3,818 people. In Denmark, it is much less frequent and appears in 1 in 16,957 people.
Struve is also found throughout the United States and Canada, having been introduced by immigrants from Northern and Central Europe. The most common places for Struve in the United States are suburban areas of major cities such as Chicago, St Louis, and Pittsburgh. In Canada, the name is found in higher concentrations in Ontario and the western provinces, particularly British Columbia.
Within Europe, Struve is a highly uncommon name, appearing in less than 150 people per million individuals. However, it is more common in isolated areas with strong Scandinavian influences, such as the Faroe Islands and the Shetland Islands. It is also found in some parts of Northern Portugal, Samogitia (Lithuania), and Volhynia (Ukraine).
Variations of the surname Struve
Struve is an old Germanic name, possibly derived from words meaning “clever” or “tough”. It has several spellings and variants, all derived from the original form. The most commonly seen variations of the Struve surname are Strouve, Strowve, Stroube, Strive, and Streu.
In Germany, the name is more commonly found spelled as Strouve or Strowve. In Russian-speaking countries, the surname spelling is written Struve. In Switzerland, the name is found as Streu, while in the Netherlands it is often seen spelled as Strive. There are even Americanized versions of the Struve name, such as Strobe and Straube.
Struve is also a patronymic form, with Struve being the father’s name and variants such as Struven, Struvens, Struvin, and Sturvin being variations of the patronymic form of the surname.
In addition to the variants of the Struve surname, there are many different spellings and surname variations that have similar spellings or roots to the Struve name. These variations can be seen in the surnames Strewve, Strube, Stroud, and Strubeck.
Other surnames with similar origins are Struger, Struck, and Strutz. Each of these surnames has its own unique spelling and upon further research may be able to be qualified as related surnames.
Famous people with the name Struve
- Otto Struve (1897–1963): an astronomer who was a pioneer of modern stellar astronomy and observational cosmology, and first to measure the Kapteyn univers.
- Heinrich Friedrich Emil Struve (1819–1905): a Russian-German astronomer known for being the first director of Pirogovo Observatory, near Moscow, as well as for his extensive studies of double stars.
- Ludwig Struve (1786–1837): a German-Estonian astronomer who discovered the Struve Geodetic Arc, a series of accurately measured triangles that span the northern part of the world.
- Karl Struve (1854–1920): a Russian chemist, bryologist, and geographer, who is best known for his discovery of titanium dioxide.
- Friedrich Georg Wilhelm von Struve (1793–1864): a German-Estonian astronomer and geodesist, best known for his crucial contributions to the study of double stars and the accurate determination of the distances to stars.
- Wilhelm Struve (1793–1864): a Russian diplomat and astronomer, best known for his work on stellar parallax and double stars, as well as his contributions to international cooperation between astronomers.
- Gustav Struve (1805–1870): a German-Russian astronomer best known for his work with the foci of conic sections and his numerical calculations of comet trajectories.
- Wladimir Struve (1890–1953): a Russian-American astronomer, noted for his contributions to modern astronomy, including his surveys of galactic structure, and the discovery of supernova explosions in other galaxies.
- Eckener Struve (1863–1939): the German-Russian astronomer and a close relative of the Struves, who is best known for his early work on the dynamics of binary stars.
- Eduard Struve (1825–1905): a German geodesist and cartographer from the Struve family, who is best known for his survey of the Gulf of Finland and his work with the Struve Geodetic Arc.