Contents [hide]

Spratt History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

Ireland United States Canada Australia New Zealand

Contemporary Notables Related Stories Citations

Spratt History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Ireland
Scotland

Early Origins of the Spratt family

The surname Spratt was first found in Dorset, where the name appeared in the Domesday Book of 1086 as Sprott, which was later changed to Spratt. The family branched into Devon and they also branched to Wareham in Dorset.

One source notes that the name could have been derived from "sprot (twig or small branch); one thought to possess some characteristic of a sprat (fish); dweller at the sign of the sprat. " 1

The Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 had various entries for the name in various counties: Henry Sprot, Cambridgeshire; Richard Sprot, Oxfordshire; and Simon Sprot in Bedfordshire. John Sprot was listed in Somerset, 1 Edward III (during the first year of King Edward III's reign. 2

Agnes Sproate was listed in the Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379 and later John Sprott de Surlingham, Norfolk was listed in the History of Norfolk. 3

Much further to the north in Scotland, the name there was "perhaps from Sprot, an Old English personal name, but more likely to be of Scandinavian origin. The tradition of those bearing this name in Scotland is that their ancestors were Saxons who came into Scotland after the Norman Conquest of England. The first recorded of the name in Scotland appears to be Hugh Sprot of Ur who witnessed a charter by Eustace Baliol granting the church and lands of Hur (Urr) in 1262 to the monks of Holyrood. " 4

"Jack Sprat" (or "Jack Spratt") is an English language nursery rhyme that was first published in 1639 in John Clarke's collection of sayings. The rhyme was then later reprinted in Mother Goose's Melody around 1765.

Early History of the Spratt family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Spratt research. Another 160 words (11 lines of text) covering the years 1290, 1307, 1376, 1398, 1443, 1457, 1479, 1505, 1582, 1594, 1600, 1616, 1623, 1628, 1635, 1666, 1684, 1713, 1890 and 1987 are included under the topic Early Spratt History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Spratt Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Spratt, Spratte, Sprat, Sprett, Spret, Sprott and others.

Early Notables of the Spratt family

Notables of the family at this time include

Blessed Thomas Sprott (died 1600), also spelled Thomas Spratt, an English martyr from Skelsmergh, near Kendal in Westmorland; he was among the eighty-five martyrs of England and Wales beatified by Pop...

Spratt Ranking

In the United States, the name Spratt is the 9,281^st most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 5

Migration of the Spratt family to Ireland

Some of the Spratt family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 57 words (4 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Spratt migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Spratt Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Mary Spratt, aged 20, who landed in Massachusetts Bay in 1635 aboard the ship "Blessing" 6
Thomas Spratt, aged 23, who landed in Virginia in 1635 aboard the ship "Assurance" 6
Charles Spratt, who arrived in Virginia in 1651 6
John Spratt, who arrived in Maryland in 1660 6
Mary Spratt, who landed in Virginia in 1661 6
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Spratt Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Joseph Spratt, who arrived in Virginia in 1706 6

Spratt Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

William Spratt, aged 25, who arrived in New York in 1800 6
Thomas Spratt, aged 50, who landed in New York, NY in 1803 6
William Spratt, who arrived in New York, NY in 1811 6
Mary Spratt, who arrived in New York, NY in 1811 6
Hugh Spratt, who arrived in New York, NY in 1811 6
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Spratt migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Spratt Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century

Samuel Spratt, who settled in Placentia, Newfoundland in 1747 7
James Spratt, who landed in Nova Scotia in 1749
John Spratt, who arrived in Nova Scotia in 1749

Spratt migration to Australia +

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

Spratt Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

James Spratt, a stonemason, who arrived in Van Diemen’s Land (now Tasmania) sometime between 1825 and 1832
Mr. Thomas Spratt, British Convict who was convicted in London, England for life, transported aboard the "Earl St Vincent" on 20th April 1826, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 8
Mr. Stephen Spratt, English convict who was convicted in Middlesex, England for 14 years, transported aboard the "Claudine" on 19th August 1829, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 9
Charles Spratt, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Fairlee" in 1840 10
John Spratt, aged 26, a blacksmith, who arrived in South Australia in 1853 aboard the ship "Olivia" 11
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Spratt 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:

Spratt Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

H. T. Spratt, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Surge" in 1855
S. Spratt, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Ulcoats" in 1864
James Spratt, aged 30, a sailmaker, who arrived in Bluff, New Zealand aboard the ship "Adamant" in 1875 12
Maria Spratt, aged 30, who arrived in Bluff, New Zealand aboard the ship "Adamant" in 1875 12
Elizabeth Spratt, aged 9, who arrived in Bluff, New Zealand aboard the ship "Adamant" in 1875 12
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Contemporary Notables of the name Spratt (post 1700) +

George A. Spratt (1870-1934), American inventor and early aircraft designer
Henry Lee Spratt (1888-1969), American Major League Baseball player
James Spratt (d. 1880), American electrician and lightning rod salesman from Cincinnati, Ohio who was the first person to manufacture dog biscuits, founder of Spratt's in London, England c. 1860
John McKee Spratt Jr. (b. 1942), American politician, Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives
William E. Spratt, American Democratic Party politician, Honorary Vice-President, Democratic National Convention, 1916 ; Candidate for U.S. Representative from Missouri 4th District, 1922
Thomas Spratt, American Democratic Party politician, Delegate to Democratic National Convention from New York, 1888, 1896, 1912
John McKee Spratt Jr. (b. 1942), American Democratic Party politician, U.S. Representative from South Carolina 5th District, 1983-
John M. Spratt, American Democratic Party politician, Delegate to Democratic National Convention from South Carolina, 1936, 1964 (alternate)
J. R. Spratt (b. 1947), American Democratic Party politician, Member of Florida State House of Representatives 77th District, 1997-
J. R. Spratt, American politician, Member of Florida State House of Representatives, 1965-67
... (Another 12 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Citations +

Smith, Eldson Coles, New Dictionary of American Family Names New York: Harper & Row, 1956. Print
Dickinson, F.H., Kirby's Quest for Somerset of 16th of Edward the 3rd London: Harrison and Sons, Printers in Ordinary to Her Majesty, St, Martin's Lane, 1889. 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)
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/
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
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 14th September 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/earl-st-vincent
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 18th February 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/claudine
State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) FAIRLIE/FAIRLEE 1840. Retrieved from http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1840Fairlie.htm
South Australian Register Tuesday 15 November 1853. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) Olivia 1857. Retrieved http://www.theshipslist.com/ships/australia/olivia1853.shtml
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 17th October 2018). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html