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Suiter History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

Contemporary Notables Related Stories Citations

Suiter History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Scotland
England

The people known in ancient Scotland as the Picts were the forefathers of the Suiter family. It is a name for a cobbler. The name is derived from the Old English word soutere, which in turn comes from the Old Norse word sutare, which means shoemaker or cobbler. 1 2

We include this excerpt from a 16th century play:

"Of that surname I neid nocht be aschomit

For I con mak schone, butekins and buittis:

Gif me the coppie of the king's cuittis,

And ye sail se, richt sune, quhat I can do."

Sir David Lindsay, Ane Satyre of the Thrie Esteaites, June 1552.

Roughly translated into more modern English:

"Of that surname I need not be ashamed, for I can make schone, butekins, and buittis" (boots) "give me a copy of the king's cuittis and ye shall see, right soon, what I can do."

Early Origins of the Suiter family

The surname Suiter was first found in Angus (Gaelic: Aonghas), part of the Tayside region of northeastern Scotland, and present day Council Area of Angus, formerly known as Forfar or Forfarshire.

The first on record was Roger Sutor who held land in Dumfries, a. 1214, and later, Kolin, son of Anegus the Souter, was present at the pleas held at Dull in Angus in 1264. Bernard called Sutor had a charter of a house in the tenement of Drumelzier, c. 1300-1320. Fynlai sutor was prepositus of Stirling, 1327, and in 1330 Symon sutor was prepositus of the burgh of Culan. 3

Further south in England, the Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 recorded John le Suter, Cambridgeshire; and William le Sutere, Cambridgeshire. The Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379 elude to the occupational nature of the name: Johannes de Morton, souter; Johannes Schether, souter; Johannes Sowter, sutor; and Adam Souterson, souiert. 4

Early History of the Suiter family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Suiter research. Another 369 words (26 lines of text) covering the years 1110, 1327, 1375, 1402, 1422, 1438, 1457, 1460, 1464, 1511, 1527, 1586, 1633, 1660 and 1663 are included under the topic Early Suiter History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Suiter Spelling Variations

Although Medieval Scotland lacked a basic set of spelling rules, which meant that scribes recorded names according to their sounds it was not uncommon for the names of a father and son to be recorded differently. As a result, there are many spelling variations of Scottish single names. Suiter has been written Souter, Suter, Sutar, Souttar, Soutar, Sutter, Shuter and many more.

Early Notables of the Suiter family

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

Suiter Ranking

In the United States, the name Suiter is the 7,179^th most popular surname with an estimated 4,974 people with that name. 5

Suiter migration to the United States +

Thousands of Scots left their home country to travel to Ireland or Australia, or to cross the Atlantic for the North American colonies. The difficult crossing was an enormous hurdle, but those who survived found freedom and opportunity in ample measure. Some Scots even fought for their freedom in the American War of Independence. This century, their ancestors have become aware of the illustrious history of the Scots in North America and at home through Clan societies and other organizations. Passenger and immigration lists show many early and influential immigrants bearing the name Suiter:

Suiter Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Israel Suiter, aged 24, who immigrated to America, in 1893
Lizzie Suiter, aged 28, who landed in America from Ireland, in 1893
Maggie Suiter, aged 28, who settled in America, in 1893
Robert Suiter, who immigrated to the United States, in 1893

Suiter Settlers in United States in the 20th Century

Wm. Suiter, aged 66, who settled in America from Belfast, in 1903
Elizabeth Suiter, aged 61, who immigrated to the United States, in 1910
James A. Suiter, aged 62, who immigrated to the United States, in 1910
James Suiter, aged 9, who landed in America, in 1914
Harrison Suiter, aged 31, who landed in America, in 1920
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Suiter 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:

Suiter Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Robert Suiter, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Sydenham" in 1870

Contemporary Notables of the name Suiter (post 1700) +

Amy Suiter, née Hanson, an American head coach of the Texas Tech Red Raiders softball team for the 2009 season
Gary G. Suiter (1944-1982), American professional NBA basketball player
Marilyn J. Suiter, American geologist, academic, recipient of the Geological Society of America, Bromery Award
Tom Suiter, American retired sportscaster for WRAL-TV and former host of Football Friday, a high school football news show also on WRAL-TV in Raleigh, North Carolina
Sean Suiter (1974-2017), American Baltimore City homicide detective who was killed November 16, 2017, a day before he was scheduled to testify in front of a federal grand jury against corrupt police
Amy Suiter, American interim head coach of the Texas Tech Red Raiders softball team
Ernest B. Suiter, American Republican politician, Alternate Delegate to Republican National Convention from Ohio, 1924 6
Jane Suiter, Irish political scientist, professor and director of Dublin City University's Institute for Future Media, Democracy, and Society ("FuJo"), named "Researcher of the Year" by the Irish Research Council in 2022

Citations +

Harrison, Henry, Surnames of the United Kingdom: A Concise Etymological Dictionary Baltimore: Geneological Publishing Company, 2013. Print
Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
Black, George F., The Surnames of Scotland Their Origin, Meaning and History. New York: New York Public Library, 1946. Print. (ISBN 0-87104-172-3)
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/
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2016, February 1) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html