Hunte History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Ireland

The ancient name of Hunte finds its origins with the ancient Anglo-Saxon culture of Britain. It comes from a name for a hunter. The surname Hunte is derived from the Old English word hunta, which means hunter. 1

The Magni Rotuli Scaccarii Normanniae listed Robert Le Huant in Normandy in 1198. 2

The name is "well distributed through England, except in the north, where its place is supplied by Hunter, which has the same signification. It is best represented in the south of England, especially in the county of Dorset, and after that in those of Wilts and Somerset." 3

Chaucer's Canterbury Tales includes and old poem about the name "With hunte and home, and houndes him beside."

Early Origins of the Hunte family

The surname Hunte was first found in Sussex where Humphrey le Hunte, was listed in the Feet of Fines in 1203. Later Ralphe Hunte was listed in the Assize Rolls of Yorkshire of 1219. 4

The Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 listed the following early entries for the family: Alice le Hunte in Oxfordshire; and Thomas le Hunte in Cambridgeshire. 5

Kirby's Quest lists the following in Somerset: Robert le Hunte and Robert le Honte, 1 Edward III (during the first year's reign of Edward III. 6

Early History of the Hunte family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Hunte research. Another 77 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1609, 1641, 1644, 1659, 1662, 1680, 1705 and 1890 are included under the topic Early Hunte History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Hunte Spelling Variations

Sound was what guided spelling in the essentially pre-literate Middle Ages, so one person's name was often recorded under several variations during a single lifetime. Also, before the advent of the printing press and the first dictionaries, the English language was not standardized. Therefore, spelling variations were common, even among the names of the most literate people. Known variations of the Hunte family name include Hunt, Hunter, Huntar and others.

Early Notables of the Hunte family

Another 38 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Hunte Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Hunte family to Ireland

Some of the Hunte family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 71 words (5 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Hunte family

For political, religious, and economic reasons, thousands of English families boarded ships for Ireland, the Canadas, the America colonies, and many of smaller tropical colonies in the hope of finding better lives abroad. Although the passage on the cramped, dank ships caused many to arrive in the New World diseased and starving, those families that survived the trip often went on to make valuable contributions to those new societies to which they arrived. Early immigrants bearing the Hunte surname or a spelling variation of the name include : Alice Hunt, who settled in Virginia in 1654; Edward Hunt, who settled in Virginia in 1655; James Hunt, who settled in Virginia in 1636; John Hunt, who settled in Virginia in 1622.

Citations +

Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
The Norman People and Their Existing Descendants in the British Dominions and the United States Of America. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing, 1975. Print. (ISBN 0-8063-0636-X)
Guppy, Henry Brougham, Homes of Family Names in Great Britain. 1890. Print.
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
Dickinson, F.H., Kirby's Quest for Somerset of 16th of Edward the 3rd London: Harrison and Sons, Printers in Ordinary to Her Majesty, St, Martin's Lane, 1889. Print.