Strickland surname meaning

Strickland is an English habitational surname from Great and Little Strickland and related places in Westmorland, now Cumbria. The place name is traditionally analyzed from Old English stīrc, a young bullock or heifer, plus land, “land” or pasture. Stricklin, Stricklan, and Stricklen are later spelling forms that may reflect American records, but they do not identify one branch by themselves. Place is the high-confidence catalog type because the named localities and geographic surname formation are clear. The “young bullock” element describes the old place name, not the character or occupation of modern Strickland bearers.