Byrnette History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Scotland
Ireland

The descendants of a Boernician family in ancient Scotland were the first to use the name Byrnette. It is a name for a person with brown or dark brown. Burnete was a high grade woolen cloth usually of dark-brown color.

Early Origins of the Byrnette family

The surname Byrnette was first found in Berwickshire an ancient county of Scotland, presently part of the Scottish Borders Council Area, located in the eastern part of the Borders Region of Scotland where they were recorded as a family of great antiquity.

The family seat was at Faringdon, where they held a manor and estates. One of the earliest records found was of Robert Burnett in 1128 but this reference may also refer to a Roger de Burnard who witnessed a charter in the same year at Kelso. In fact, one reference claims that the spelling of Bernard was used until 1409 when Robert Burnett made the change.

Later, an Alexander Burnard or Burnett went north with King Robert I and acquired lands in the forest of Drum. He was also granted the barony of Tulliboyll in Kincardine. 1

The Clan were hereditary foresters to the King of Scotland. Roger Burnard, Alexander's successor, had four sons, Goufrid, Ralph, Walter, and Richard. The Burnetts of Barns who gave name to Burnetland in the parish of Broughton, claim descent from Robertus de Burneville, during the reign of David I.

Early History of the Byrnette family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Byrnette research. Another 212 words (15 lines of text) covering the years 1128, 1208, 1296, 1323, 1596, 1615, 1635, 1643, 1656, 1663, 1664, 1669, 1674, 1679, 1684, 1688, 1714, 1715, 1720, 1728, 1729, 1890 and 1951 are included under the topic Early Byrnette History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Byrnette Spelling Variations

Before the printing press and the first dictionaries appeared, names and other words were often spelled differently every time they were written. Byrnette has appeared under the variations Brunette, Burnnet, Burnette, Burnatt, Brunete, Bernett, Burnete, Burnet, Bunett, Bunnet, Bunnett, Bunet, Burnett and many more.

Early Notables of the Byrnette family

Notable amongst the family name during their early history was Alexander Burnet (1615-1684), a Scottish clergyman, Bishop of Aberdeen (1663-1664), Archbishop of Glasgow (1664-1669) and (1674-1679), Chancellor of the University of Glasgow (1664-1669), (1674-1679) and Chancellor of the University of St Andrews (1679-1684); Gilbert Burnet (1643-1715), a Scottish theologian and historian, fluent in Dutch, French, Latin, Greek, and Hebrew, and Bishop of...
Another 61 words (4 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Byrnette Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Byrnette family to Ireland

Some of the Byrnette family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 64 words (5 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Byrnette family

The Scots who crossed the Atlantic were often on the run from poverty as well as persecution. They brought little with them, and often had nothing of their home country to hand down to their children. In the 20th century, Clan societies and other patriotic Scottish organizations have helped the ancestors of Boernician Scots to recover their lost national legacy. Many of those families went on to make significant contributions to the rapidly developing colonies in which they settled. Early North American records indicate many people bearing the name Byrnette were among those contributors: Jo and Nicholas Burnett who settled in Virginia in 1635; John Burnett who arrived in Barbados in 1685; the Burnetts who settled in Maryland; Captain Burnet and his wife who settled in Boston Massachusetts in 1768.

The Byrnette 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: Virescit vulnere virtus
Motto Translation: Courage grows stronger at the wound.