A couple years ago I wrote about my name and where it came from, but I didn’t delve into the actual origins of the “Troutman” name itself.

Recently someone made a little joke, the point of which had to do with my last name having the name of a fish in it.

Which led me to consider that although my name lends itself quite easily to fish related parody (Troutfish, Fishman, etc.), I didn’t actually get very much of that growing up. 

I do recall one time my uncle Curtis Troutman, who was the music teacher in our school system, showed me with amusement a piece of paper that he had retrieved from his windshield that had the word “FISH” printed on it in block letters.

But that was about it.

Given that our family is of German descent, as is the “Troutman” name, it might surprise some people who aren’t familiar with die deutsche Sprache that “Troutman” in the original German has nothing to do with the fish.

The German word for “trout” is, in fact, “die Forelle”.

Many years ago I wrote to a place that claimed to have information on the origin of the Troutman name. Here’s what they had to say:

Your surname is a source of great pride and dates back centuries. Our research indicates that Troutman began as a characteristic and patronymical name and means, “son of Traut (faithful or true man); descendant of Traett (defiant); descendant of Trutr (snout nosed); son of Traute.”

So there you have it.

Many have called me Defiant, although some have used less flattering terms.

But you can call me Snout Nosed!