Burtt History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Ireland

The name Burtt came to England with the ancestors of the Burtt family in the Norman Conquest of 1066. It comes from 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 Burtt family

The surname Burtt 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 Burtt family

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

Burtt Spelling Variations

Anglo-Norman names tend to be marked by an enormous number of spelling variations. This is largely due to the fact that Old and Middle English lacked any spelling rules when Norman French was introduced in the 11th century. The languages of the English courts at that time were French and Latin. These various languages mixed quite freely in the evolving social milieu. The final element of this mix is that medieval scribes spelled words according to their sounds rather than any definite rules, so a name was often spelled in as many different ways as the number of documents it appeared in. The name was spelled Burt, Burte, Birt, Burts, Berte, Burte, Birte and many more.

Early Notables of the Burtt family

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

Migration of the Burtt family to Ireland

Some of the Burtt 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.

Burtt migration to the United States +

Because of the political and religious discontent in England, families began to migrate abroad in enormous numbers. Faced with persecution and starvation at home, the open frontiers and generally less oppressive social environment of the New World seemed tantalizing indeed to many English people. The trip was difficult, and not all made it unscathed, but many of those who did get to Canada and the United States made important contributions to the young nations in which they settled. Some of the first North American settlers with Burtt name or one of its variants:

Burtt Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Lane Burtt, who arrived in Virginia in 1623 3
William Burtt, who arrived in Virginia in 1623 3
Jane Burtt, who landed in Jamestown, Va in 1624 3
Richard Burtt, aged 30, who landed in New York in 1691 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)