| ![Show Contents]() Shortt History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms
The history of the name Shortt goes back those Anglo-Saxon tribes that once ruled over Britain. Such a name was given to a person who because of their physical characteristics was named short. In this case the surname Shortt can be traced back to the Old English word sceort which means short. The original bearer would have been known as the short one, because of his low stature. As height is one of the most easily distinguished features of a person, names derived from this aspect of a person's physique are by no means rare. Early Origins of the Shortt familyThe surname Shortt was first found in Dorset where one of the first records of the name was Ordic Scort who was listed there in the Pipe Rolls of 1176. Other early records include Richard le Sorte who was listed in the Assize Rolls of 1269 in Somerset and William Short who was listed in the Subsidy Rolls of Sussex of 1327. 1 The Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 list William Short in Suffolk. 2 Early History of the Shortt familyThis web page shows only a small excerpt of our Shortt research. Another 89 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1600, 1603, 1635, 1668, 1675, 1685, 1690, 1772 and 1890 are included under the topic Early Shortt History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible. Shortt Spelling VariationsSound 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 Shortt family name include Short, Shorte, Shortt, Schorte and others. Early Notables of the Shortt familyDistinguished members of the family include Peter Short (died 1603), a London printer who printed several first editions and early texts of Shakespeare's works.Thomas Short (1635-1685), was an English physician, son of the Rev. William Short, born at Easton, Suffolk. He settled in London and was...
Another 45 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Shortt Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible. Shortt RankingIn the United States, the name Shortt is the 10,562nd most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 3  Migration of the Shortt family to Ireland
Some of the Shortt family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 50 words (4 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
| Shortt migration to the United States | + |
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. Investigation of the origins of family names on the North American continent has revealed that early immigrants bearing the name Shortt or a variant listed above:
Shortt Settlers in United States in the 19th Century- John H Shortt, who landed in America in 1807 4
| Shortt migration to Canada | + |
Some of the first settlers of this family name were: Shortt Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century- Joanna Shortt, who arrived in Nova Scotia in 1840
| Shortt migration to New Zealand | + |
Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include: Shortt Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century- Annes Shortt, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "British Empire" in 1880 5
- Lewis Shortt, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "British Empire" in 1880 5
| Contemporary Notables of the name Shortt (post 1700) | + |
- Kate Shortt, English pianist, cello player, songwriter and comedian
- William Hamilton Shortt, British railway engineer who co-invented the Shortt-Synchronome free pendulum clock in 1921 which was so accurate it had an error rate of only one second in 12 years
- Pat Shortt (b. 1966), Irish actor, comedian and entertainer from Thurles, County Tipperary
- Edward Shortt PC KC (1862-1935), British lawyer and Liberal Party politician, Home Secretary (1919 to 1922)
- Bill Shortt (1920-2004), Welsh professional footballer from Wrexham, Wales
- Adam Shortt CMG FRSC (1859-1931), Canadian economic historian from Kilworth, Ontario
| Historic Events for the Shortt family | + |
North Sea Flood - Jack Shortt, British citizen, living in Fellixstowe, England,killed in the North Sea Flood, a major storm surge in 1953
- 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)
- "What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
- 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)
- New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 12th November 2011). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
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Shortt migration to the United States 
Shortt migration to Canada 
Shortt migration to New Zealand 
England
Ireland
