Burts History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Ireland

The name Burts reached English shores for the first time with the ancestors of the Burts family as they migrated following the Norman Conquest of 1066. The name Burts is based on the Norman personal name and was originally spelled Berte. That name is derived from the word berht, which means light. Hence the name could have been a nickname for someone who was "bright, clear or splendid" having derived from the Anglo Saxon word "beorht." 1

Early Origins of the Burts family

The surname Burts was first found in Norfolk where Thomas de Burt and Hamo Burt were first listed there in the Hundredorum Rolls of 1273. The same rolls also listed Ralph Burte in Leicestershire and Roger Burt in Oxfordshire. 2

Early History of the Burts family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Burts research. Another 169 words (12 lines of text) covering the years 1066 and 1273 are included under the topic Early Burts History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Burts Spelling Variations

It is only in the last few hundred years that the English language has been standardized. For that reason, Anglo-Norman surnames like Burts are characterized by many spelling variations. Scribes and monks in the Middle Ages spelled names they sounded, so it is common to find several variations that refer to a single person. As the English language changed and incorporated elements of other European languages such as Norman French and Latin, even literate people regularly changed the spelling of their names. The variations of the name Burts include Burt, Burte, Birt, Burts, Berte, Burte, Birte and many more.

Early Notables of the Burts family

More information is included under the topic Early Burts Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Burts family to Ireland

Some of the Burts family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt. More information about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Burts migration to the United States +

Faced with the chaos present in England at that time, many English families looked towards the open frontiers of the New World with its opportunities to escape oppression and starvation. People migrated to North America, as well as Australia and Ireland in droves, paying exorbitant rates for passages in cramped, unsafe ships. Many of the settlers did not make the long passage alive, but those who did see the shores of North America were welcomed with great opportunity. Many of the families that came from England went on to make essential contributions to the emerging nations of Canada and the United States. Some of the first immigrants to cross the Atlantic and come to North America carried the name Burts, or a variant listed above:

Burts Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Michael Burts, aged 16, who arrived in New York, NY in 1849 3

Citations +

Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
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)