Bets History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Netherlands
England

The origins of the name Bets are from the ancient Anglo-Saxon culture of Britain. It is derived from one of a number of personal names. The surname Bets is usually explained as a metronymic derivative of the female personal name Beatrice, or less often, Elizabeth. 1

However, the name is undoubtedly occasionally derived from the male personal name Bartholomew, which also took the variant forms Bertram or Bertelmew. The surname Bets may also be a "local" type surname which means a dweller by the hollows.

Early Origins of the Bets family

The surname Bets was first found in Norfolk, where they held a family seat from ancient times, long before the Norman Conquest in 1066.

"One of the principal stocks of the old and characteristic Norfolk name of Betts included the family that possessed, in the 15th and 16th centuries, the manors of Hastings Hall and Whitefoot in Irmingland. This name is also well represented in Lincolnshire, where it usually takes the form of Bett; it is also present, though less numerous, in the other east coast counties of Suffolk and Kent." 2

Early History of the Bets family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Bets research. Another 178 words (13 lines of text) covering the years 1200, 1379, 1480, 1500, 1570, 1576, 1581, 1590, 1642, 1643, 1646, 1647, 1695, 1743, 1770, 1905 and 1912 are included under the topic Early Bets History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Bets Spelling Variations

Sound was what guided spelling in the essentially pre-literate Middle Ages, so one person's name was often recorded under several variations during a single lifetime. Also, before the advent of the printing press and the first dictionaries, the English language was not standardized. Therefore, spelling variations were common, even among the names of the most literate people. Known variations of the Bets family name include Betts, Bets, Bettes, Bett, Bette and others.

Early Notables of the Bets family

Notables of the family at this time include John Bettes (d. 1570?), an English miniature painter, commonly stated to have been a pupil of Nicholas Hilliard. "Bettes painted a miniature in oils of Queen Elizabeth, which is said to have been highly successful. He is mentioned by Foxe in his 'Ecclesiastical History' as having engraved a pedigree and some vignettes for Hall's 'Chronicle.' He is also said to have painted the portrait of Sir John Godsalve. Foxe...
Another 77 words (6 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Bets Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Bets migration to the United States +

For political, religious, and economic reasons, thousands of English families boarded ships for Ireland, the Canadas, the America colonies, and many of smaller tropical colonies in the hope of finding better lives abroad. Although the passage on the cramped, dank ships caused many to arrive in the New World diseased and starving, those families that survived the trip often went on to make valuable contributions to those new societies to which they arrived. Early immigrants bearing the Bets surname or a spelling variation of the name include:

Bets Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Christian Bets, who landed in Allegany (Allegheny) County, Pennsylvania in 1835 3

Contemporary Notables of the name Bets (post 1700) +

Valentin Bets, Russian Admiral

The Bets 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: Ostendo non ostento
Motto Translation: I show, not boast.

Citations +

Arthur, William , An Etymological Dictionary of Family and Christian Names. London: 1857. Print
Guppy, Henry Brougham, Homes of Family Names in Great Britain. 1890. Print.
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)