Contents [hide]

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

United States Canada Australia New Zealand

Contemporary Notables Historic Events Related Stories Citations

Butt History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Germany

The German state of Prussia, which reached the zenith of its power in the late 19th century, is the glorious birthplace of the distinguished surname Butt. In the medieval era, after the fall of the Roman Empire, the German lands were inhabited by a variety of Barbarian tribes. The borders of the Barbarian kingdoms changed frequently, but the region that became known as Prussia was roughly divided between the areas of Brandenburg-Prussia, West Prussia, and East Prussia. The colorful history of Prussia provides a glimpse at the oldest origins of the Butt family. Brandenburg-Prussia is essentially the birthplace of modern Germany. By the 19th century, Brandenburg-Prussia had incorporated East Prussia, West Prussia and many other German territories. Moreover, in the late 19th century, it led the German states in the unification of Germany.

Early Origins of the Butt family

The surname Butt was first found in Prussia, where the name Butt was anciently associated with the tribal conflicts of the area. They declared allegiances to many nobles and princes of early history, lending their influence in struggles for power and status within the region. They branched into many houses, and their contributions were sought by many leaders in their search for power.

Early History of the Butt family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Butt research. Another 70 words (5 lines of text) covering the year 1802 is included under the topic Early Butt History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Butt Spelling Variations

In the medieval era, many different cultural groups lived in the German states. There are thus many regional variations of German surnames from that era. Westphalians spoke Low German, which is similar to modern Dutch. Many German names carry suffixes that identify where they came from. Others have phrases attached that identify something about the original bearer. Other variations in German names resulted from the fact that medieval scribes worked without the aid of any spelling rules. The spelling variations of the name Butt include Butt, Butte, But, Bute, Bott, Botte, Bot, Bote, Boet, Boett, Boette, Boete, Buett, Buet, Buete and many more.

Early Notables of the Butt family

Notable figures of the time with the name Butt were

the von Butt family of Prussia

Butt World Ranking

In the United States, the name Butt is the 5,069^th most popular surname with an estimated 4,974 people with that name. 1 However, in Canada, the name Butt is ranked the 757^th most popular surname with an estimated 7,063 people with that name. 2 And in Newfoundland, Canada, the name Butt is the 20^th popular surname with an estimated 803 people with that name. 3 The United Kingdom ranks Butt as 767^th with 8,749 people. 4

Butt migration to the United States +

Prussia played an extremely influential role in shaping modern German history. It remained a part of Germany until after the Second World War. Prussia was divided among the Soviet Union, Poland, East Germany and West Germany. Many Prussians became residents of these new countries after the War, and many migrated to other parts of Germany or Europe, as well as to North America. In the United States, the majority of settlers landed in Philadelphia, and moved on to Ohio, Texas, Illinois, California, New York, and Maryland. Many German settlers also migrated to Canada, particularly to Ontario and the Prairies. Amongst the settlers in North America with this distinguished name Butt were

Butt Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Robert Butt, who landed in Virginia in 1640 5
James Butt, who arrived in Virginia in 1650 5
William Butt, who landed in Virginia in 1696 5

Butt Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

William Butt, aged 51, who arrived in New York in 1812 5
John Butt who arrived in New York in 1812
John Butt, who arrived in New York, NY in 1830 5
Lena Butt, who landed in North America in 1832-1849 5
Dietr Butt who arrived in North America between 1832 and 1849
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Butt Settlers in United States in the 20th Century

Annie Butt, aged 21, who immigrated to the United States from Worcester, in 1904
Chas. H. Butt, aged 22, who landed in America from Bristol, in 1907
Florence Annie Butt, aged 35, who settled in America from Ampthill, England, in 1909
Charles Butt, aged 55, who immigrated to the United States from Southampton, England, in 1909
Charles John Butt, aged 46, who immigrated to the United States from Shaftesbury, England, in 1910
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Butt migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Butt Settlers in Canada in the 17th Century

Roger Butt who settled in Carbonear, Newfoundland, in 1675 6

Butt Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century

John Butt, who settled in Conception Bay, Newfoundland, in 1706 6
Joseph Butt, who settled in Crockers Cove (Carbonear), Newfoundland, in 1706 6
Joseph Butt, who settled in Clown's Cove, Newfoundland, in 1747 6
Edward Butt, who landed in Nova Scotia in 1749
Joseph Butt, who arrived in Nova Scotia in 1750
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Butt Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century

Mr. James Butt, aged 10 who immigrated to Canada, arriving at the Grosse Isle Quarantine Station in Quebec aboard the ship "Sir Henry Pottinger" departing from the port of Cork, Ireland but died on Grosse Isle in August 1847 7

Butt Settlers in Canada in the 20th Century

Florence Butt, aged 30, who settled in Montreal, Canada, in 1912
Emma Butt, aged 30, who immigrated to Port au Port, Newfoundland, in 1915
Charles Butt, aged 40, who immigrated to Vancouver, Canada, in 1920
Donald Butt, aged 0, who settled in Cupids, Newfoundland, in 1922
Eliza Butt, aged 56, who immigrated to Trinity, Newfoundland, in 1924
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Butt migration to Australia +

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

Butt Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mr. James Butt, English convict who was convicted in Wells, Somerset, England for 10 years, transported aboard the "Equestrian" on 30th June 1845, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Island) 8
Thomas Butt, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Navarino" in 1849 9
Thomas Butt, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Blundell" in 1851 10
Benjamin Butt, aged 18, who arrived in South Australia in 1852 aboard the ship "China" 11
Mr. Edwin Butt, (b. 1821), aged 32, English farm labourer, from Nottingham, England, UK travelling aboard the ship "Trafalgar" arriving in New South Wales, Australia on 10th March 1853, he died on board 12
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Butt 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:

Butt Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Henry Butt, who landed in Nelson, New Zealand in 1840
Thomas Butt, aged 31, a shepherd, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Assaye" in 1874 13
Mr. Thomas Butt, British settler travelling from London, UK with 1 child aboard the ship "Assaye" arriving in Auckland, North Island, New Zealand on 26th December 1874 13

Contemporary Notables of the name Butt (post 1700) +

Howard Edward Butt Sr. (1895-1991), American businessman and philanthropist, founder of the HEB grocery store chain
Dame Clara Butt (1872-1936), English contralto, born in Southwick, Sussex, one of the most popular singers from the 1890s through to the 1920s
C. M. Butt, American politician, Member of Wisconsin State Senate, 1869-70; People's Candidate for Governor of Wisconsin, 1892 14
Hugh Roland Butt (1910-2008), American physician who developed methods to treat hemorrhaging patients with vitamin K, President of the American College of Physicians in 1971 and 1972
Charles Clarence Butt (b. 1938), American billionaire businessman, son of Howard Butt
Howard Edward Butt (1927-2016), American owner of HEB Grocery Company, LP, son of Howard Butt Sr
Jimmy Lee Butt (b. 1921), prominent American agricultural engineer
Thomas Franklin Butt (b. 1917), American Judge who served as a professor of law at the University of Arkansas 1939-40
Lillian Stuart Butt (b. 1901), American educator who devoted her life to a wide variety of causes
Peter Butt, American Libertarian politician, Candidate for Presidential Elector for California, 1972 14
... (Another 26 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Historic Events for the Butt family +

RMS Titanic

Mr. Robert Henry Butt (d. 1912), aged 22, English Saloon Steward from Southampton, Hampshire who worked aboard the RMS Titanic and died in the sinking and was recovered by CS Mackay-Bennett 15
William John Butt (1877-1912), English saloon steward, member of the engineering crew aboard the RMS Titanic who died in the sinking, his body was recovered by the Mackay-Bennett as No. 77 15
Archibald Willingham DeGraffenreid Clarendon Butt (1865-1912), American journalist, military aide to U.S. presidents Theodore Roosevelt and William Howard Taft and diplomat who died in the sinking of the RMS Titanic 15

SS Caribou

Mr. Walter Robert Butt, (Bob), Newfoundland passenger who was Royal Air Force from Newfoundland and Labrador was travelling aboard the railway ferry "SS Caribou" when it was struck by a German submarine torpedo on 14th October 1942, the most significant sinking in Canadian waters at that time, he survived the sinking and later died in action in 1943

SS Southern Cross

Mr. John Butt (1893-1914), Newfoundlander from Carbonear who was aboard the "SS Southern Cross" when it is suspected she sank between the 31st March 1914 and early April during the storm with a heavy load of pelts; no survivors were ever found

Citations +

"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
The order of Common Surnames in 1955 in Newfoundland retrieved on 20th October 2021 (retrieved from Family Names of the Island of Newfoundland by E.R. Seary corrected edition ISBN 0-7735-1782-0)
"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)
Seary E.R., Family Names of the Island of Newfoundland, Montreal: McGill's-Queen's Universtity Press 1998 ISBN 0-7735-1782-0
Charbonneau, André, and Doris Drolet-Dubé. A Register of Deceased Persons at Sea and on Grosse Île in 1847. The Minister of Canadian Heritage, 1997. ISBN: 0-660-198/1-1997E (p. 16)
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 9th May 2022). https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/equestrian
State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) NAVARINO 1849. Retrieved from http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1849Navarino.htm
State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) BLUNDELL 1851. Retrieved http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1851Blundell.htm
South Australian Register Tuesday 3 February 1852. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) CHINA 1852. Retrieved http://www.theshipslist.com/ships/australia/china1852.shtml
Cornwall Online Parish Clerks. (Retrieved 3rd May 2018). Retrieved from http://www.opc-cornwall.org/Resc/pdfs/emigration_1850_59.pdf
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 17th October 2018). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, October 9) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
Titanic Passenger List - Titanic Facts. (Retrieved 2016, July 13) . Retrieved from http://www.titanicfacts.net/titanic-passenger-list.html