Show ContentsCorlet History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The surname Corlet comes from the Old Norse forename Thorliotr, meaning "Thor-people." It was Gaelicized to MacThorliotr; however in Gaelic the letters "Th" are not pronounced after the prefix "Mac," thus the surname came to be elided to MacCorlett.

Early Origins of the Corlet family

The surname Corlet was first found in on the Isle of Man. The Vikings had conquered the island from the Celts in the 9th century, and ruled it from Dublin. They settled on the island and intermarried with the Gaelic Scoti people, who had migrated from Ireland to Man and Scotland much earlier.

Early History of the Corlet family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Corlet research. Another 90 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1504 and 1511 are included under the topic Early Corlet History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Corlet Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Corlett, Corlet, MacCorlett and others.

Early Notables of the Corlet family

Notable amongst the Clan from early times was

  • the Corlett family of Lezayre


United States Corlet migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Corlet Settlers in United States in the 18th Century
  • John Corlet, who arrived in Virginia in 1701 1
Corlet Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • William Corlet, who landed in Charleston, South Carolina in 1806 1

New Zealand Corlet 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:

Corlet Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century
  • Mr. Corlet, British settler travelling from Liverpool aboard the ship 'Mermaid' arriving in Auckland, New Zealand on 19th October 1859 2
  • Mrs. Corlet, British settler travelling from Liverpool with 4 family members aboard the ship 'Mermaid' arriving in Auckland, New Zealand on 19th October 1859 2


  1. 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)
  2. New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 17th October 2018). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html


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