Strauss, Strauß or Straus is a common Germanic surname. Outside Germany and Austria Strauß is usually spelled Strauss (the letter "ß" is not used in the German-speaking part of Switzerland). In classical music, "Strauss" most commonly refers to Richard Strauss or Johann Strauss II.
The name has been used by families in the Germanic area for at least a thousand years. The overlord of Gröna, for example, went by the name of Struz and used the image of an ostrich as his symbol. Examples of it could still be seen on the thousand-year-old church bell of that town. "Struz" or "Strutz" is the North-German form of the word "Strauss", which is the modern German word for ostrich.
Some of the earliest Jewish bearers of the name hailed from the Judengasse in medieval Frankfurt, where families have been known by the name of the houses they inhabited. All the houses had names and these included Haus Strauss, complete with an image of an ostrich on the façade.
When, for tax purposes, Napoleon made surnames obligatory in 1808, some more Jewish families decided to adopt the Straus(s) name.
Notable people
A–F
Adolf Strauss (general) (or Strauß 1879–1973), German colonel general
Adriaan Strauss (born 1985), South African Springbok rugby union player
Andrew Strauss (born 1977), South African born former English cricket captain
Andries Strauss (born 1984), South African Springbok rugby union player; brother of Irish International Richardt Strauss and cousin of Springbok Adriaan Strauss Annette Strauss (1924–1998), philanthropist and former mayor of Dallas, Texas Anselm Strauss (1916–1996), American sociologist Anton Strauss (1858-?), German-Russian engineer, inventor and entrepreneur Astrid Strauss (born 1968), East German swimmer Aurora Straus, American racecar driver Barry S. Strauss (born 1953), American classicist and historian Bill Strauss (footballer) (1916–1984), South African born Scottish footballer and cricketer Billy Straus, American record producer and songwriter Botho Strauß (born 1944), German writer and playwright Bruce Strauss (born 1952), American boxer Carolyn Strauss (born 1963), American television executive and producer Christoph Straus (around 1580–1631), composer Claude Lévi-Strauss (1908–2009), French anthropologist D. F. M. Strauss (born 1946), South African philosopher Darin Strauss (born 1970), American writer David Strauss (David Friedrich Strauss or Strauß, 1808–1874), German theologian and writer Dominique Strauss-Kahn (born 1949), French politician, former managing director of the International Monetary Fund Dona Strauss (born 1934), British mathematician Donald B. Straus (1916–2007), American educator, author, political advisor Eduard Strauss (1835–1916), Austrian composer, son of Johann Strauss I Eric Strauss (born 1960), American biologist, professor at Boston College Ernst G. Straus (1922–1983), mathematician and assistant to Albert Einstein Erwin Straus (1891–1975), phenomenologist and neurologist of European origin Fabio Strauss (born 1994), Austrian footballer Ferdinand Strauss, The founder of the mechanical toy industry in America Franz Josef Strauss (or Strauß, 1915–1988), German politician (CSU) Franz Strauss (1822–1905), German horn player and composer, father of Richard Strauss