Payt History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Ireland

The Anglo-Saxon name Payt comes from the baptismal name for Patrick. In the religious naming tradition the Payt surname was bestowed in honor of a religious figure. In Europe, the Christian Church was one of the most powerful influences on the formation of given names. Alternatively, the name could have been derived from the Middle English word "pate" which meant "head" or "skull". In this latter case, the name would have been a nickname.

Early Origins of the Payt family

The surname Payt was first found in Cambridgeshire, where one of the first records of the name was Walter Patte who was listed in the Hundredorum Rolls of 1273. The Yorkshire Poll Tax records of 1379 list the following: Willelmus Payt, and Cecilia Payt (who we presume are related); and Johannes Patte.

Early History of the Payt family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Payt research. Another 79 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1516, 1528, 1533, 1557, 1565, 1585, 1588, 1652, 1666, 1688, 1734 and 1746 are included under the topic Early Payt History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Payt Spelling Variations

One relatively recent invention that did much to standardize English spelling was the printing press. However, before its invention even the most literate people recorded their names according to sound rather than spelling. The spelling variations under which the name Payt has appeared include Pate, Pait, Pat, Patt and others.

Early Notables of the Payt family

Notables of the family at this time include Richard Pate (1516-1588), English founder of the Cheltenham grammar school, commonly described as of Minsterworth, Gloucestershire. Pate died on 28 Oct. 1588, in his seventy-third year, and was buried in the south transept of Gloucester Cathedral, where his monument was renewed by Corpus Christi College in 1688. Richard Pate or Pates (d. 1565), was an English prelate, Bishop of Worcester, son...
Another 68 words (5 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Payt Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Payt family to Ireland

Some of the Payt family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt. More information about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Payt family

At this time, the shores of the New World beckoned many English families that felt that the social climate in England was oppressive and lacked opportunity for change. Thousands left England at great expense in ships that were overcrowded and full of disease. A great portion of these settlers never survived the journey and even a greater number arrived sick, starving, and without a penny. The survivors, however, were often greeted with greater opportunity than they could have experienced back home. These English settlers made significant contributions to those colonies that would eventually become the United States and Canada. An examination of early immigration records and passenger ship lists revealed that people bearing the name Payt arrived in North America very early: Richard Pate, who settled in Virginia in 1636; as did William Pate in 1637; John Pate in 1651; Henry and Catherine Pate in 1656; and Elizabeth Pate in 1663..