Show ContentsHatt History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Hatt Family Crest Download (JPG) Heritage Series - 600 DPI

Family Crest Download (JPG) Heritage Series - 600 DPI

Etymology of Hatt

What does the name Hatt mean?

The name Hatt is Anglo-Saxon in origin. It was a name given to a person who made or sold hats. 1 2 3 4 The surname Hatt is derived from the Old English word hætt, which means hat. Occupational names frequently were derived from the principal object associated with the activity of the original bearer, such as tools or products. These types of occupational surnames are called metonymic surnames.

The surname Hatt may also be derived from residence by a hill, since the Old English word hætt, also means hill. Hathitch Farm and Hathouse Farm are both in Worcestershire, and may be sources of the surname Hatt.

Early Origins of the Hatt family

The surname Hatt was first found in Dorset, England where Randulf Hat was recorded in the Pipe Rolls of 1168. Later Richard atte Hatte was listed in the Subsidy Rolls for Worcestershire in 1327. 5

The Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 included entries for: Thomas del Hat, Oxfordshire; Henry Hat, Wiltshire; and William Hat, Norfolk. 2

Another source has a different origin of the family: "Hatt and Hutt may be in most cases a contraction of Hiatt, also an Oxfordshire name. In the 13th century we find Hat in Oxfordshire and Wilts, and Hut in Oxfordshire, where it is associated with Le Hurt." 6

Early History of the Hatt family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Hatt research. Another 100 words (7 lines of text) covering the years 1148, 1279, 1327, 1599, 1634, 1635, 1636, 1658 and 1719 are included under the topic Early Hatt History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Hatt Spelling Variations

Until the dictionary, an invention of only the last few hundred years, the English language lacked any comprehensive system of spelling rules. Consequently, spelling variations in names are frequently found in early Anglo-Saxon and later Anglo-Norman documents. One person's name was often spelled several different ways over a lifetime. The recorded variations of Hatt include Hatt, Hat and others.

Early Notables of the Hatt family

  • John Hatt, Esq., (1599-1658), of Leckhampstead, London & Orsett. Attorney of the Guildhall, London
  • Dame Dorothy Appleton (nee Hatt) (1636-1719), wife of Sir William Appleton, 5th Baronet Appleton of South Benfleet, Essex and daughter of John Hatt, Esq., (1599-1658), of Leckhampstead, London & Orset...

Hatt migration to the United States +

Thousands of English families boarded ships sailing to the New World in the hope of escaping the unrest found in England at this time. Although the search for opportunity and freedom from persecution abroad took the lives of many because of the cramped conditions and unsanitary nature of the vessels, the opportunity perceived in the growing colonies of North America beckoned. Many of the settlers who survived the journey went on to make important contributions to the transplanted cultures of their adopted countries. The Hatt were among these contributors, for they have been located in early North American records:

Hatt Settlers in United States in the 17th Century
  • John Hatt who arrived in Virginia in 1652
  • Elizabeth Hatt, who arrived in Virginia in 1677
  • Thomas Hatt, who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1682 7
Hatt Settlers in United States in the 18th Century
  • Hans Conrad Hatt, who landed in Pennsylvania in 1750 7
Hatt Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • Peter Hatt, who arrived in New York in 1826 7
  • Friedere Hatt, aged 29, who arrived in New York in 1854 7

Hatt migration to Canada +

Hatt Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century
  • Adam Hatt, who landed in Halifax, Nova Scotia in 1751
  • Anna Hatt, who arrived in Halifax, Nova Scotia in 1751
  • Jacob Hatt, who landed in Halifax, Nova Scotia in 1751
  • Conrad Hatt, who landed in Halifax, Nova Scotia in 1751
  • Konrad Hatt, who landed in Halifax, Nova Scotia in 1751
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Hatt migration to Australia +

Hatt Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Contemporary Notables of the name Hatt (post 1700) +

  • William Kendrick Hatt, American professor of civil engineering at Purdue University, father of Robert Torrens Hatt
  • Robert Torrens Hatt (1902-1989), American naturalist and author, Director of the Cranbrook Institute of Science (CIS), awarded a Founders Medal in 1964 from the Cranbrook Foundation, discoverer of Hatt's vesper rat
  • Roy Hatt, American Republican politician, Candidate in primary for Michigan State House of Representatives from Jackson County 2nd District, 1942 10
  • Ralph S. Hatt, American Democratic Party politician, Candidate in primary for Michigan State Senate 18th District, 1958, 1960 11
  • Holley Hatt, American Republican politician, Alternate Delegate to Republican National Convention from Nebraska, 2008 11
  • Elizabeth A. Hatt, American Democratic Party politician, Alternate Delegate to Democratic National Convention from New York, 1972 11
  • Eliza Ruth Hatt (d. 1892), English actress and mistress of William Henry Crossland, the English architect; they had three illegitimate sons
  • John Hatt, British travel editor of Harper's and Queen, travel author, founder of Cheapflights Ltd
  • Richard Hatt (1769-1819), English-born, Canadian businessman, jurist and politician who was elected to the 7th Parliament of Upper Canada in 1817
  • ... (Another 1 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)
Halifax Explosion
  • Mr. Thomas  Hatt (1877-1917), Canadian resident from Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada who died in the Halifax Explosion (1917) 11
  1. Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
  2. Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
  3. Harrison, Henry, Surnames of the United Kingdom: A Concise Etymological Dictionary Baltimore: Geneological Publishing Company, 2013. Print
  4. Smith, Eldson Coles, New Dictionary of American Family Names New York: Harper & Row, 1956. Print
  5. Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
  6. Guppy, Henry Brougham, Homes of Family Names in Great Britain. 1890. Print.
  7. 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)
  8. Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 10th September 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/earl-st-vincent
  9. Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 7th October 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/bengal-merchant
  10. The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2016, February 5) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
  11. Halifax Explosion Book of Remembrance | Maritime Museum of the Atlantic. (Retrieved 2014, June 23) . Retrieved from https://maritimemuseum.novascotia.ca/what-see-do/halifax-explosion/halifax-explosion-book-remembrance

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