Strauss

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
G–L
Harry L. Straus, (1896–1949), American electrical engineer, horse and cattle breeder, sportsman, entrepreneur and computer pioneer
Harry Strauss (1909–1941), contract killer for Murder, Inc. in the 1930s
Henry Strauss, 1st Baron Conesford (1892–1974), member of the British Parliament from 1935 to 1955
Hugo Strauß (1907–1941), German rower
Isaac Lobe Straus (1871–1946), American politician and lawyer
Isidor Straus (1845–1912), owner of R. H. Macy Co., member of the U.S. House of Representatives, died when the steamer Titanic sank
Ivan Štraus (1928–2018), Bosnian architect
Jack Straus (1930–1988), American professional poker player
Jael Strauss, contestant in America's Next Top Model, Cycle 8
James Straus, American special effects artist and animation developer
James Strauss (flautist) (born 1974), Brazilian flautist
James D. Strauss (1929–2014), American theologian and professor
Jesse I. Straus (1872–1936), son of Isidor Straus, president of Macy's, U.S. ambassador to France 1933–36
Jessica Straus (born 1962), American voice actress
Jo-Ann Strauss (born 1981), Miss South Africa in 2000
Joe Straus (born 1959), politician from Texas
Joe Strauss (1858–1906), American baseball player
Johann Strauss I (1804–1849), Austrian composer (Radetzky March), father of Johann Strauss II, Josef Strauss, and Eduard Strauss
Johann Strauss II (1825–1899), Austrian composer (Die Fledermaus, Blue Danube Waltz)
Johann Strauss III (1866–1939), Austrian composer, son of Eduard Strauss
John J. Strauss (born 1957), American producer and writer of film and television
Jon Strauss, former president of Harvey Mudd College
Josef Strauss (1827–1870), Austrian composer, son of Johann Strauss I
Joseph Straus (born 1938), German patent scholar
Joseph Strauss (disambiguation), several people, including:
Joseph Strauss (admiral) (1861–1948), American admiral
Joseph Strauss (engineer) (1870–1938), chief engineer in the building of the Golden Gate Bridge in California
Josh Strauss (born 1986), South African rugby union player
Julius Strauss, British journalist
Julius Strauss (photographer) (1857–1924), American photographer
Kai Strauss (born 1970), German electric blues singer, guitarist, and songwriter
Karin Straus (born 1971), Dutch politician
Karl Strauss (1912–2006), German-American master brewer and co-founder of Karl Strauss Brewing Company
Kathleen N. Straus (born 1923), American educator and politician
Kim Strauss (or Kurt Strauss) (born 1953), actor
Jacobus Gideon Nel Strauss (1900–1990), aka Koos Strauss, Kosie Strauss, J. G. N. Strauss, South African politician and Leader of the opposition after Jan Smuts
Leo Strauss (1899–1973), political philosopher
Levi Strauss (disambiguation), several people, including:
Levi Strauss (1829–1902), Bavaria-born American entrepreneur and inventor of blue jeans
Claude Lévi-Strauss, French anthropologist and ethnologist
Dina Lévi-Strauss, French anthropologist and ethnologist, wife of the above
Lewis Strauss (1896–1974) American businessman and chairman of the United States Atomic Energy Commission
Lotte Strauss (1913–1985), American pathologist after which Churg–Strauss syndrome is named
Ludwig Straus (1835–1899), Hungarian-Austrian violinist
M–Z
Maayan Strauss (born 1983), Israeli artist
Marianne Strauss (1923–1996), German Holocaust survivor
Mark L. Strauss, New Testament professor
Mark Strauss (journalist) (born 1966), American journalist
Michael W. Straus (1897–1970), American government official
Mikaela Straus (born 1998), stage name King Princess, American singer-songwriter and great-great-granddaughter of Isidor and Ida Straus
Murray A. Straus (1926–2016), American sociologist and professor (University of New Hampshire), creator of the Conflict tactics scale
Nathan Straus (1848–1931), German-American merchant and philanthropist
Nathan Straus Jr. (1889–1961), New York journalist and politician
Neil Strauss, (born 1969) American journalist and author
Ofra Strauss (born 1960), chairperson of Israeli food products manufacturer Strauss
Oscar Straus (composer) (1870–1954), Austrian composer of operettas
Oscar Straus (politician) (1850–1926), Secretary of Commerce and Labor under President Theodore Roosevelt
Paul Strauss (born 1964), politician from the District of Columbia
Peter Strauss (born 1947), American actor
Ralph Straus Regula (1924–2017), politician from Beach City, Stark County, Ohio
Ray Strauss (1927–2013), Australian cricketer
Ricardo Strauss (cricketer)
Richard Strauss (1864–1949), German composer of operas and tone poems (Salome, Also sprach Zarathustra)
Richard Strauss (physician) (1938–2005), subject of the Ohio State University abuse scandal
Richardt Strauss (born 1986), South African rugby union player representing Ireland internationally; brother of Springbok Andries Strauss and cousin of Springbok Adriaan Strauss
Robert Strauß (born 1986), German football player
Robert Strauss (actor) (1913–1975), American actor
Robert E Strauss (born 1983), American professional wrestler using the ring name Robbie E
Robert Schwarz Strauss (1918–2014), American diplomat
Roberto Strauss (born 1952), Mexican Olympic swimmer
Roger Williams Straus Jr. (1917–2004), co-founder of book publishers Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Rolene Strauss (born 1992), 2014 Miss South Africa and Miss World
Ruth Strauss (born 1963), English squash player
Sagi Strauss (born 1976), Israeli footballer
Stephen Straus (1946–2007), American medical researcher
Sylvia Straus, pianist
Thomas Strauß (born 1953), German rower
Tiaan Strauss (born 1965), South African Springbok rugby union player
Victoria Strauss (born 1955), fantasy author
Walter Alexander Strauss (born 1937), American mathematician
William Strauss, (1947–2007), American author, historian, playwright, lecturer and theorist
William M. Straus, (born 1956), member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives
Zoe Strauss, (born 1970), American photographer
Fictional Strauss characters
Mrs Strauss, an elderly client of Jimmy McGill whom he assists with estate planning in the Better Call Saul episode titled "Alpine Shepherd Boy"
Akabara Strauss, Vampire King from the manga The Record of a Fallen Vampire
Dr Arthur Strauss, fictional character who served as the original mentor of serial killer and cult leader Joe Carroll, lead character in the TV series The Following
Artie Strauss, fictional character based on the real life murderer Richard Loeb of the infamous murder duo Leopold and Loeb
Erin Strauss, fictional FBI section chief played by Jayne Atkinson in the TV series Criminal Minds
Hans and Greta Strauss, inspiration for the fairy tale of "Hansel and Gretel" according to the Buffy episode "Gingerbread"
Justice Strauss, fictional character from A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket
Leopold Strauss, loan shark and bookkeeper of the Van der Linde gang in the 2018 videogame Red Dead Redemption 2
Maximilian Strauss, from the game Vampire The Masquerade: Bloodlines, one of the Primogen in Los Angeles
Judge Robert Strauss, fictional character who presided over Carrie Mathison's competency hearing in Homeland
Roman Strauss, fictional conductor-composer from the 1991 psychological thriller Dead Again
Tracy Strauss, fictional character from NBC's science fiction TV series "Heroes" by Tim Kring
The Strauss siblings, Mirajane, Elfman, and Lisanna. All three are wizards and Fairy Tail guild members from the manga Fairy Tail by Hiro Mashima
References
Surnames of Jewish origin
German-language surnames
Yiddish-language surnames