 Streep 's father was of German and Swiss ancestry . Her father 's lineage traces back to Loffenau , Germany , from where her second great @-@ grandfather , Gottfried Streeb , emigrated to the United States , and where one of her ancestors served as mayor ( the surname was later changed to " Streep " ) . Another line of her father 's family was from Giswil , Switzerland . Her mother had English , German , and Irish ancestry . Some of Streep 's maternal ancestors lived in Pennsylvania and Rhode Island and were descended from 17th @-@ century immigrants from England . Her eighth great @-@ grandfather , Lawrence Wilkinson , was one of the first Europeans to settle in Rhode Island . Streep is also a distant relative of William Penn , the founder of Pennsylvania ; records show that her family is among the first purchasers of land in the state . Streep 's maternal great @-@ great @-@ grandparents , Manus McFadden and Grace Strain , the namesake of Streep 's second daughter , were natives of the Horn Head district of Dunfanaghy , Ireland . 
