Fett History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Germany

Medieval Austria is the ancient homeland of the Fett family. Austria, which was originally home to a Celtic people, was conquered by the Roman Empire in about 15 BC. Following the fall of Rome, Austria was repeatedly invaded by barbarian tribes, such as the Vandals, Visigoths, and Huns, who swept in from the east. During the 5th and 6th centuries, the Alemanni, Avars and Slavs settled Austria. The Avars were defeated in 785 by the Frankish emperor Charlemagne, who set up the East Mark, which later became known as the Österreich. Austria was ruled by the Babenburger dynasty until 1278, when they were succeeded by the Hapsburg dynasty, which ruled Austria until the 20th century.

Early Origins of the Fett family

The surname Fett was first found in Bavaria, where the name, historically associated with the landed aristocracy, could be considered to have played a major role in the feudal society which became the backbone of early development of Europe. The name was derived from the German word for "cousin," from the German word denoting "father's brother; one related to another, later, a male cousin." 1

The main branch of the family left Bavaria for Styria in Austria in 1587 and later moved into Silesia where they became one of the most respected families. The ancestral seat was the castle and estates of Feistritz, near the city Cilley, two miles from Graz in Styria. The family also acquired the castle and manor Miestitz near Oppeln in Silesia.

Early History of the Fett family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Fett research. Another 249 words (18 lines of text) covering the years 1547, 1622, 1653, 1666, 1734 and 1822 are included under the topic Early Fett History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Fett Spelling Variations

One can encounter great variation in the spelling of surnames: in early times, spelling in general, and thus the spelling of names was not yet standardized; and later, spellings would change with branching and movement of families. Variations of the name Fett include Vetter, Voetter (Bavaria), Votter (Bavaria), Vetters, Vetterle, Voetterl, Vetterling, Vetterlein, Vetterley, Vetterline, Vedder (northern Germany), Vett, Veth, Vether, Fett, Fetter, Fetters, Fetterle and many more.

Early Notables of the Fett family

Prominent among members of the name Fett in this period include the knight Eusebius Vetter, who so distinguished himself at the Battle of the White Mountain during the uprising...
Another 28 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Fett Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Fett Ranking

In the United States, the name Fett is the 15,845^th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 2

Fett migration to the United States +

Austria was made a republic after the First World War. The Austro-Hungarian Empire was broken up by the Treaty of Versailles and many of its people found themselves in the new nation of Czechoslovakia. Many other Austrians and expatriate Austrians made their way to North America in the 20th century. Most landed in Philadelphia, later continuing on to the states of Ohio, Texas, Illinois, California, New York, and Maryland. Some Austrian settlers also went to western Canada and Ontario. Research into the origins of individual families in North America revealed records of the immigration of a number of people bearing the name Fett or a variant listed above:

Fett Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Johann Philips Fett, who landed in America in 1741 3

Fett Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Mane Mary Fett, aged 16, who arrived in New York, NY in 1855 3

Contemporary Notables of the name Fett (post 1700) +

O. J. Fett, American Republican politician, Member of South Dakota State House of Representatives 55th District, 1941-46; Member of South Dakota State Senate 30th District, 1947-48 4
Kathryn Fett, American Republican politician, Delegate to Republican National Convention from South Dakota, 1948 4
George Leonard Fett (1920-1989), American cartoonist born in Cleveland, Ohio, best known for his Sniffy and Norbert comic strips
Harry Fett (1875-1962), Norwegian art historian, director of the Norwegian Directorate for Cultural Heritage from 1913 to 1946
Lya Fett Luft (1938-2021), Brazilian writer and a prolific translator from Santa Cruz do Sul, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, working mostly in the English-Portuguese and the German-Portuguese language combinations

Citations +

Smith, Eldson Coles, New Dictionary of American Family Names New York: Harper & Row, 1956. Print
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
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)
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, November 2) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html