Berrett History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Ireland

When the Strongbownians arrived in Ireland, they encountered an established Irish system for creating hereditary surnames. However, like the Irish, the Anglo-Norman Strongbownians frequently had patronymic surnames, a form of surname that was formed from the name of the bearer's father, or another older relative. Therefore, since the Strongbownians' system was in many ways built on the same principles as the Irish, the two systems eventually attained a sort of merger. Since the Stronbownian's names often had Norman names which were French, diminutive suffixes, such as -ot, -et, -un, -in, or -el were added to the name of the bearer's father, or older relative. Another Norman way of creating a patronymic name was to use the prefix Fitz-, which was derived from the French word "fils," and ultimately from the Latin "filius," both of which mean son. The surname Berrett is derived from the personal name Berold. In Munster, the Gaelic form of the surname Berrett is Baróid, while in Connacht, the Gaelic form is Bairéid.

Early Origins of the Berrett family

The surname Berrett was first found in Lincolnshire, where Matthew Baret was recorded between 1150 and 1155. The Barret family was also established in the English counties of Nottinghamshire, Hertfordshire, Hampshire, Yorkshire and Essex. However, they joined Strongbow in his invasion of Ireland in 1172 at the invitation of the King of Leinster, Dermot McMurrough. Strongbow granted lands to the family in County Cork and County Mayo where they became staunchly Irish.

Patrick Barret (d. 1415), was an Irish ecclesiastic and judge, one of the canons of the Augustinian abbey of Kells in Ossory, was consecrated Bishop of Ferns in Wexford by the Pope at Rome in December 1400. 1

Not all of the family emigrated to Ireland, but today the name is better known there than in England. By example, "the manor of Ashton, or Ashtorre Barrett, in [the parish of St. Dominick, Cornwall], belonged for many generations to the ancient family of Barrett; but on failure of male issue it passed with an heiress in 1707 to the family of Prestwood." 2

Early History of the Berrett family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Berrett research. Another 91 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1400, 1410, 1412, 1415, 1554, 1555, 1558, 1580, 1631, 1691, 1693 and 1713 are included under the topic Early Berrett History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Berrett Spelling Variations

During the lifetime of an individual person, his name was often spelt by church officials and medieval scribes the way it sounded. An examination of the many different origins of each name has revealed many spelling variations for the name: Barrett, Barret, Barett, Baret, Barratt, Barrat, Barat, Baratt, McWhadden and many more.

Early Notables of the Berrett family

Notable amongst the family up to this time was Lord of Tirawley; Patrick Barrett (died 1415), an Irishman who held religious and secular high offices in Ireland, an Augustinian Canon at Kells Priory in County Kilkenny, Bishop of Ferns (appointed 1400), concentrated bishop at Rome (1400), Lord Chancellor of Ireland from 1410 to 1412.John Baret or Barret (d. 1580?), was an English lexicographer...
Another 63 words (4 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Berrett Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Berrett migration to the United States +

Ireland's Great Potato Famine left the country's inhabitants in extreme poverty and starvation. Many families left their homeland for North America for the promise of work, freedom and land ownership. Although the Irish were not free of economic and racial discrimination in North America, they did contribute greatly to the rapid development of bridges, canals, roads, and railways. Eventually, they would be accepted in other areas such as commerce, education, and the arts. An examination of immigration and passenger lists revealed many bearing the name Berrett:

Berrett Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Jos Berrett, who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1753 3

Berrett Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Ellen H. Berrett, aged 35, originally from London, arrived in New York in 1893 aboard the ship "New York" from Southampton, England 4

Berrett Settlers in United States in the 20th Century

John Berrett, aged 35, originally from Ashton-under-Lynme, England, arrived in New York in 1908 aboard the ship "Cedric" from Liverpool, England 4
Angelio Berrett, aged 45, originally from Lucca, Italy, arrived in New York in 1908 aboard the ship "La Provence" from Havre, France 4
Henry O. Berrett, aged 17, arrived in New York in 1918 aboard the ship "Briton" from Plymouth, England 4
Ernest Berrett, aged 16, originally from London, arrived in New York in 1920 aboard the ship "Quilque" from Colon 4
Katherine I. Berrett, originally from Longduff, Ireland, arrived in New York in 1922 aboard the ship "Aquitania" from Southampton, England 4

Contemporary Notables of the name Berrett (post 1700) +

LaMar C. Berrett (1926-2007), American professor of religion at Brigham Young University (BYU)
William Edwin "Ed" Berrett (1902-1993), American Vice President of Brigham Young University (BYU)
Tara Joy Berrett (b. 1968), née Croxford, Canadian former field hockey player at the 1992 Summer Olympics
Marcus Berrett (b. 1975), English former professional squash player from Halifax
Timothy B. Berrett (b. 1965), English-born, Canadian race walker
James Trevor Berrett (b. 1989), English professional footballer, member of the Republic of Ireland National Teams (2006-2009)

Citations +

Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. Print
Hutchins, Fortescue, The History of Cornwall, from the Earliest Records and Traditions to the Present Time. London: William Penaluna, 1824. Print
Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
Ellis Island Search retrieved 15th November 2022. Retrieved from https://heritage.statueofliberty.org/passenger-result