Stretch family in Ireland?

Question

My ancestor was John Stritch/Stretch who went to Virginia, United States in 1609 from Ireland. He changed his last name to Street accordingly to English rule. What Irish clan in Ireland was before Stretch? The earliest that I have documented in my book "The Street Family Genealogy" was Nicholas Stretch who was a bailiff in 1377.

Any help would be grateful.

Answer 1

Well, you can go to Ireland and look there.

Answer 2

I can't answer the Irish clan aspect of your family, but ancestry.com states..."STRETCH - English: nickname from Middle English strech, strecche ‘strong’, ‘violent’." (I, imagine, 'strong' sounds better than 'violent'.) ... grin