Contents [hide]

Tait History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables World Ranking

Ireland United States Canada Australia New Zealand

Contemporary Notables Related Stories Citations

Tait History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England-Alt
England
Scotland
Ireland

The Tait surname is generally thought to be derived from the Old Norse word "teitr," meaning "cheerful." According to the Venerable Bede, Tate was used as a nickname for Ethelberga daughter of Ethelbert, king of Kent. 1 Some sources suggest that its origins are quite distinct from the Old English roots of Tate.

Early Origins of the Tait family

The surname Tait was first found in Berwickshire an ancient county of Scotland, presently part of the Scottish Borders Council Area, located in the eastern part of the Borders Region of Scotland, where they held a family seat from early times. One of the first records of the name was Thomas dictus Tayt in 1329 who was listed as having a debt to the king at that time. There are several recorded instances of payments to a John Tayt, clerk of the hospital of Montrose, between 1362-70. Alexander Tayt was burgess of Edinburgh in 1381. Adam Tayte had a safe conduct to travel in England in 1424. 1

Early History of the Tait family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Tait research. Another 164 words (12 lines of text) covering the years 1100, 1381, 1424, 1432, 1490, 1492, 1531, 1567, 1575, 1597, 1605, 1626, 1652, 1666, 1692, 1715 and 1890 are included under the topic Early Tait History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Tait Spelling Variations

Spelling rules only evolved in the last few centuries with the invention of the printing press and the first dictionaries. Spelling variations are extremely common in names from before that period. Tait has been spelled Tait, Tate, Tayte, Taite and others.

Early Notables of the Tait family

Notable amongst the family name during their early history was

Princess Tait of Kent

Tait World Ranking

In the United States, the name Tait is the 5,976^th most popular surname with an estimated 4,974 people with that name. 2 However, in Canada, the name Tait is ranked the 938^th most popular surname with an estimated 5,790 people with that name. 3 And in Australia, the name Tait is the 619^th popular surname with an estimated 6,282 people with that name. 4 New Zealand ranks Tait as 284^th with 2,149 people. 5 The United Kingdom ranks Tait as 565^th with 11,518 people. 6

Migration of the Tait family to Ireland

Some of the Tait family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 60 words (4 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Tait migration to the United States +

After making their great crossing, many Boernician-Scottish families settled along the east coast of North America. When the War of Independence broke out, United Empire Loyalists moved north to Canada while the rest stayed to fight. The ancestors of many of these Scots still populate the continent. This century, through Clan societies and other Scottish organizations, they began to rediscover their collective national heritage. Analysis of immigration records indicates that some of the first North American immigrants bore the name Tait or a variant listed above:

Tait Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Magnus Tait, who settled in East New Jersey in 1685
Patrick Tait, who settled in East New Jersey in 1685

Tait Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

David Tait, who arrived in Florida in 1769
James Tait, who arrived in Boston in 1774
Elizabeth Tait, who settled in Savannah, Georgia in 1775
David Tait, aged 7, who arrived in Savanna(h), Georgia in 1775 7

Tait Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

James Tait, aged 37, who landed in South Carolina in 1812 7
James Tait, who landed in Charleston, South Carolina in 1813 7
William Tait, who landed in Allegany (Allegheny) County, Pennsylvania in 1818 7
James Tait, who settled in Baltimore Maryland with his son in 1820
Robert Tait, who arrived in New York in 1838 7
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Tait migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Tait Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century

Mr. George Tait Sr.,U.E. who settled in Northumberland County, New Brunswick c. 1784 8

Tait Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century

George Tait, a planter in Trinity, Newfoundland, in 1822 9
John Tait, who arrived in Saint John, New Brunswick aboard the ship "Daniel O'Connell" in 1834
Andrew Tait, who arrived in New Brunswick in 1847

Tait Settlers in Canada in the 20th Century

John Tait, who arrived in Saint John, New Brunswick in 1907

Tait migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Tait Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mr. Thomas Tait, English convict who was convicted in Kent, England for 14 years , transported aboard the "Duke of Portland" in January 1807, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 10
James Tait, aged 30, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Palmyra" in 1839 11
Helen Tait, aged 22, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Palmyra" in 1839 11
Anne Tait, aged 4, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Palmyra" in 1839 11
Alexander Tait, aged 2, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Palmyra" in 1839 11
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Tait 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:

Tait Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Mr. Andrew Tait, British settler travelling from Gravesend, UK aboard the ship "Dinapore" arriving in Auckland, New Zealand on 5th August 1857 12
Mrs. Tait, British settler travelling from Gravesend, UK aboard the ship "Dinapore" arriving in Auckland, New Zealand on 5th August 1857 12
Child Tait, British settler travelling from Gravesend, UK aboard the ship "Dinapore" arriving in Auckland, New Zealand on 5th August 1857 12
Mr. Robert Tait, British settler travelling from London, UK aboard the ship "British Queen" arriving in Auckland, New Zealand on 30th August 1859 12
Mr. Samuel Tait, (b. 1846), aged 16, Scottish farm labourer, from Zetland (Shetland) travelling from London aboard the ship "Queen of Mersey" arriving in Lyttelton, Christchurch, Southland, South Island, New Zealand on 20th October 1862 13
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Contemporary Notables of the name Tait (post 1700) +

Joseph "Joe" Tait (1937-2021), American sports broadcaster for the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Cleveland Indians, awarded the Basketball Hall of Fame 2010 Curt Gowdy Media Award
George Edward Tait (d. 2017), American poet, writer, an educator, storyteller, journalist and activist
Douglas Tait, American actor, stuntman, and independent filmmaker, known for his work in Star Trek, Zathura: A Space Adventure, Thor, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, and Land of the Lost
Charles Tait (1768-1835), American politician, United States Senator from Georgia (1809-1819)
Arthur Fitzwilliam Tait (1819-1905), American wildlife artist
William Walker Tait (b. 1929), American emeritus professor of philosophy at the University of Chicago
Michael DeWayne Tait (b. 1966), American contemporary Christian music artist
Rear-Admiral James Haldane Tait (1771-1845), Scottish Naval officer, son of William Tait of Glasgow and his wife Margaret
William Tait (1792-1864), Scottish publisher, son of James Tait, builder in Edinburgh
Archibald Campbell Tait (1811-1882), Scottish churchman born in Edinburgh, Archbishop of Canterbury; he belonged to a family that was in the seventeenth century settled in Aberdeenshire as bonnet-lairds or yeomen
... (Another 27 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Citations +

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)
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
"Surnames Meanings, Origins & Distribution Maps - Forebears." Forebears, https://forebears.io/surnames
"Most Common Last Names in Australia." Forebears, https://forebears.io/australia/surnames
"Most Common Last Names in New Zealand." Forebears, https://forebears.io/new-zealand/surnames
"UK surname ranking." UK Surname map, https://www.surnamemap.eu/unitedkingdom/surnames_ranking.php?p=10
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)
Rubincam, Milton. The Old United Empire Loyalists List. Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc, 1976. (Originally published as; United Empire Loyalists. The Centennial of the Settlement of Upper Canada. Rose Publishing Company, 1885.) ISBN 0-8063-0331-X
Seary E.R., Family Names of the Island of Newfoundland, Montreal: McGill's-Queen's Universtity Press 1998 ISBN 0-7735-1782-0
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 28th July 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/duke-of-portland
State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) PALMYRA 1839. Retrieved from http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1839Palmyra.htm
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 17th October 2018). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 26th March 2019). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html