Show ContentsDeletis History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The ancestors of the name Deletis date back to the days of the Anglo-Saxon tribes of Britain. The name is derived from their residence in any of a number of places called Street, in Herefordshire, Kent and Somerset. 1

Deletis is a local surname, which belongs to the category of hereditary surnames. Other types of local surnames include topographic surnames, which could be given to a person who lived beside any physical feature, such as a hill, stream, church or type of tree. Habitation names form the other broad category of surnames that were derived from place-names. They were derived from pre-existing names for towns, villages, parishes, or farmsteads. Other local names are derived from the names of houses, manors, estates, regions, and entire counties. The surname Deletis comes from the Old English word stræt, which means Roman road. In the Middle Ages, this word came to denote the main street in a village, and so the surname may also refer to someone who lived on the main street. 2 3

Early Origins of the Deletis family

The surname Deletis was first found in Devon where they held a family seat from ancient times, but by the Hundredorum Rolls of 1273, the name had scattered throughout ancient Britain as those rolls include: Alice de la Strete, Oxfordshire and Alexander de la Strete, Kent. 4

Kirby's Quest listed John atte Strete, Somerset, 1 Edward III (during the first year's reign of Edward III) 5 and the Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379 listed Elyas del Strete and Alicia del Strete as holding lands there at that time. 4

Some of the family emigrated to Ireland where the name was typically spelt Estrete or Strete and typically were found in Louth and Meath. We note that John Estrete, or Strete (died after 1511) was an Irish judge, author, law lecturer and statesman who held the offices of King's Serjeant, Deputy Chief Baron of the Irish Exchequer, and Master of the Coinage of Ireland.

Early History of the Deletis family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Deletis research. Another 81 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1600, 1621, 1624, 1625, 1650, 1653, 1666, 1670, 1679, 1680, 1689 and 1696 are included under the topic Early Deletis History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Deletis Spelling Variations

Deletis has been spelled many different ways. Before English spelling became standardized over the last few hundred years, spelling variations in names were a common occurrence. As the English language changed in the Middle Ages, absorbing pieces of Latin and French, as well as other languages, the spelling of people's names also changed considerably, even over a single lifetime. Many variations of the name Deletis have been found, including Street, Streat, Strethe, Strete and others.

Early Notables of the Deletis family

Notables of the family at this time include Thomas Street (Streete) (1621-1689), an early English astronomer, best known for his book "Astronomia Carolina, a new theorie of Coelestial Motions" which was used as a reference for many years having at least three editions, eponym of the Street lunar crater.William Streat (1600?-1666), was an English divine, born in Devonshire. Thomas Street (1625-1696), was an English judge and politician from Worcester; Robert Streater (1621-1679), an English landscape, history, still-life and portrait artist, architectural painter and etcher, Serjeant Painter to King Charles II; and John Streater (fl. 1650-1670), was an...
Another 97 words (7 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Deletis Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Ireland Migration of the Deletis family to Ireland

Some of the Deletis family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 30 words (2 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.


United States Deletis migration to the United States +

In an attempt to escape the chaos experienced in England, many English families boarded overcrowded and diseased ships sailing for the shores of North America and other British colonies. Those families hardy enough, and lucky enough, to make the passage intact were rewarded with land and a social environment less prone to religious and political persecution. Many of these families became important contributors to the young colonies in which they settled. Early immigration and passenger lists have documented some of the first Deletiss to arrive on North American shores:

Deletis Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • Vicko Deletis, who arrived in San Francisco, California in 1850-1865 6


  1. Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
  2. Smith, Eldson Coles, New Dictionary of American Family Names New York: Harper & Row, 1956. Print
  3. Harrison, Henry, Surnames of the United Kingdom: A Concise Etymological Dictionary Baltimore: Geneological Publishing Company, 2013. Print
  4. Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
  5. Dickinson, F.H., Kirby's Quest for Somerset of 16th of Edward the 3rd London: Harrison and Sons, Printers in Ordinary to Her Majesty, St, Martin's Lane, 1889. Print.
  6. 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)


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