Stout
Name Origin
The English surname Stout is of nickname origin, belonging, as it does, to that category of names based on physical characteristic or personal attribute of an original barer. In this case, the origin of the name can be traced to the Old English word "stut" ("stout" in middle English), or the Old French word "estalt, estout", meaning "stout, bold". This nickname may have originally been attributed to one who was of sturdy build, or one thought to be valiant and strong. The name was once a familiar name in English counties of York and Lancaster. Though somewhat rare in England today, the name flourishes in America.
The name was first recorded, it seems, in 1190. In that year, one Osbert Stute was listed in the Yorkshire Pole Tax. The Lancaster Assize Rolls in 1219, contain a reference to William Stutte, or le Estut, and in 1373, the name of one Adam Stout appears in "The Court Rolls of the Borough of Colchester" (Colchester, 1921-41).
A record, however, of one Henry atte Stoute (1330) in "Place-names of Devonshire" would seem to suggest that the name is also local in origin, derived from the place a man once dwelt or held land. In this case, the name derives from the Old English "stut", which also signifies "a rounded hill". Thus, an original bearer may have been a dweller by this particular feature of the land. There seems to be a place of this name in Yarcombe, Devonshire. The name was established in the New World by English emigrants at an early date. One hundred and three bearers of the name are listed in the Philadelphia Directory in 1885.
Also the German Staudt or Staud surname was aparently Americanized to Stout. See Stouts from Germany.
My Stouts
Richard Stout b. 1615 in Nottinghamshire, England. There is a multitude available on Richard here and there. Start with This page if the name is new to you. Here he is on my Ancestors page: Ancestors #3619.
Peter Stout Ancestors #3610
Samuel Stout Ancestors #3604
Peter Stout Ancestors #3594
Samuel Stout Ancestors #1277
Joseph Stout Ancestors #1254
Allen Joseph Stout Ancestors #3651
John Henry Fisk Stout Ancestors #183
John Henry Fisk Stout Ancestors #183
Edna Stout Ancestors #190
Some Sources
Baer, Mabel V. D. "Richard Stout and Some Descendants". National Genealogical Society Quarterly, vol. 52, 1964, pages 86-94.
Davidson, Robert. Written communications, 13 November 1998.
Friend, Maurie L. "The Perils of Penelope Kent". Drumbeat, vol. 45, no. 2, Fall 1966, pages 4-5.
Hornor, William S.. "Penelope VanPrinces". This Old Monmouth of Ours, Moreau Brothers, Freehold, NJ, 1932, pages 146-148.
Hornor, William S.. "Richard Stout". This Old Monmouth of Ours, Moreau Brothers, Freehold, NJ, 1932, page 181.
"[Penelope Prince]". In: Gravesend [New York] Town Book, volume 1, 12 September 1648.
Salter, Edwin. "Stout". A History of Monmouth and Ocean Counties, E. Gardner & Son, Bayonne, NJ, 1890, pages lvi-lvii.
Schott, Penelope S. Penelope: The Story of the Half-Scalped Woman, University Press of Florida, Gainesville, 1999, 64 pages.
Snyder, Lorin. Written communications, 11 November 1998.
Stillwell, John E. "Stout of Monmouth County". Historical and Genealogical Miscellany, New York, NY, vol. 4, 1916, pages 295-374.
Stockton, Frank R. "The Story of Penelope Stout". Stories of New Jersey, Rutgers Univ. Press, New Brunswick, NJ, 1961, pages 57-68.
Stout, Herald F. Some of the Descendants of Richard Stout of New Jersey, Glendale, CA, 1940, 92 pages.
Stout, Herald F. Stout and Allied Families, Eagle Press, Dover, OH, 1951, 813 pages.
Stout, Herald F. "Family History..Richard Stout". Stauden Blatter, vol. 5, no. 4, Winter 1964-65, pages 2-8.
Stout, Herald F. Stout and Allied Families, San Diego, CA, 3rd edition, vol. 1, 1986, 800 pages.
Stout, J. D. Stout and Allied Families, Chariton, IA, 1991, pages 1-4.
Stout, Kemble. James Pindall Stout 1819-1903 and Burthena Shackelford Kemble 1824-1908, 1975, 353 pages.
Stout, Richard. "[Abstract of his will, written 9 June 1703, proved 23 October 1705]". New Jersey Colonial Documents, Calendar of Wills - 1670-1730, page 446.
Stout, Wayne D. Genealogy of the Sagers, Fisk, and Stout Families, Salt Lake City, UT, 1960, 583 pages.
Welles, Theodore W. "Lucy Stout". Ancestral Tablets From Colonial Days to the Present Era: A Record of the Descendents of Gov. Thomas Welles ..., Press Print. and Pub. Co., Patterson, NJ, 1893, page 380.