Buttar History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Scotland
England

The saga of the Buttar family begins among the people of the ancient tribe of the Picts. They lived in the counties of Perth and Fife (now in the modern regions of Tayside and Fife, respectively), and is likely from the village of Buttergask in the parish of Ardoch.

Researchers have mixed feelings about the origin of the name. One source notes "Boterus and Botorus are found as personal names in Domesday Book." 1 Another found in the Magni Rotuli Scaccarii Normanniae, a listing of "Ralph and Sylvester Butor in Normandy in 1198." 2 And another claims the name is from "the Old Norse, Buttr; from the Danish, Butho; from the Dutch, Boot, Buter, Butti; from the French, Buteau." 3

Early Origins of the Buttar family

The surname Buttar was first found in Fife and Perthshire where they held a family seat from very ancient times, some say well before the Norman Conquest and the arrival of Duke William at Hastings in 1066 A.D.

Further to the south in England, the Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 listed: John le Butur, Cambridgeshire; John le Botur, Cambridgeshire; and John Botere, Huntingdonshire. 4

Early History of the Buttar family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Buttar research. Another 110 words (8 lines of text) covering the years 1600, 1608, 1664, 1672 and 1767 are included under the topic Early Buttar History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Buttar 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. Buttar has been written Buttar, Butter, Butters, Buttars and others.

Early Notables of the Buttar family

Another 37 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Buttar Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Buttar 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 Buttar:

Buttar Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Wilhelm Buttar, who landed in New York, NY in 1782 5

Contemporary Notables of the name Buttar (post 1700) +

Rajinder Buttar, American Democratic Party politician, Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Connecticut, 2004 6

Historic Events for the Buttar family +

HMS Dorsetshire

Charles Phillip Buttar (d. 1945), British Commander Engineer Officer aboard the HMS Dorsetshire when she was struck by air bombers and sunk; he died in the sinking 7

The Buttar Motto +

The motto was originally a war cry or slogan. Mottoes first began to be shown with arms in the 14th and 15th centuries, but were not in general use until the 17th century. Thus the oldest coats of arms generally do not include a motto. Mottoes seldom form part of the grant of arms: Under most heraldic authorities, a motto is an optional component of the coat of arms, and can be added to or changed at will; many families have chosen not to display a motto.

Motto: Diriget Deus
Motto Translation: God will direct it.

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)
Barber, Henry, British Family Names London: Elliot Stock, 62 Paternoster Row, 1894. Print.
Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
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)
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, October 9) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
Force Z Survivors HMS Dorsetshire Crew List, (Retrieved 2018, February 13th), https://www.forcez-survivors.org.uk/biographies/listdorsetshirecrew.html