Garnette History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

Garnette is one of the thousands of new names that the Norman Conquest brought to England in 1066. It is a name for a person who grew or sold pomegranates. This metonymic name, which is a type of name that refers to the principal object associated with the activity of the original bearer, is derived from the old French words pome, which meant fruit or apple, and grenate, which meant full of seeds. The name of the precious stone is derived from the same source. The name Garnette is also a metonymic occupational name for a maker or fitter of hinges, derived from the Old French word carne, which means hinge. The name Garnette was brought to England after the Norman Conquest of 1066 and it spread into the county of Lancashire.

Early Origins of the Garnette family

The surname Garnette was first found in Lancashire at Leck, a township and chapelry, in the parish of Tunstall, union of Lancaster, hundred of Lonsdale south of the Sands. "This township belonged to the Gernets, of Halton, in the reign of John." 1

"According to Domesday Book, Skelmersdale, [Lancashire] was in 1066 held by Uctred, who also held Dalton and Uplitherland; like these it was assessed as one ploughland, and was worth the normal 32d. beyond the usual rent. Later it was part of the forest fee, held by the Gernet family. The first of them known to have held it, Vivian Gernet, gave Skelmersdale and other manors to Robert Travers; these were held in 1212 by Henry Travers under Roger Gernet." 2

Early History of the Garnette family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Garnette research. Another 67 words (5 lines of text) covering the years 1555, 1575, 1605, 1606 and 1608 are included under the topic Early Garnette History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Garnette Spelling Variations

Anglo-Norman names are characterized by a multitude of spelling variations. When the Normans became the ruling people of England in the 11th century, they introduced a new language into a society where the main languages of Old and later Middle English had no definite spelling rules. These languages were more often spoken than written, so they blended freely with one another. Contributing to this mixing of tongues was the fact that medieval scribes spelled words according to sound, ensuring that a person's name would appear differently in nearly every document in which it was recorded. The name has been spelled Garnett, Garnet, Garnette, Gernet, Gernett and others.

Early Notables of the Garnette family

Outstanding amongst the family at this time was Sir Roger Gernett of Lancashire; Henry Garnet (1555-1606), sometimes Henry Garnett, an English Jesuit priest executed for his complicity in the Gunpowder Plot of 1605. He was born at Heanor, Derbyshire, the son of Brian Garnett and his wife, Alice Jay. "Father John Gerard states that his parents were well esteemed, and well able to maintain their family...
Another 66 words (5 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Garnette Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Garnette family

For many English families, the political and religious disarray that plagued their homeland made the frontiers of the New World an attractive prospect. Thousands migrated, aboard cramped disease-ridden ships. They arrived sick, poor, and hungry, but were welcomed in many cases with far greater opportunity than at home in England. Many of these hardy settlers went on to make important contributions to the emerging nations in which they landed. Among early immigrants bearing the name Garnette or a variant listed above were: James Garnet who settled in Maryland in 1685; Elizabeth Garnet settled in Virginia in 1623; Judith Garnett settled in Massachusetts in 1634; Susan and Thomas Garnett settled in Virginia in 1623.

Contemporary Notables of the name Garnette (post 1700) +

Patricia Garnette, American visual effects specialist, known for Freddie as F.R.O.7. (1992), Christmas Carol: The Movie (2001) and War Game (2002)
Nate Garnette, American musician, member of Skeletonwitch, an American metal band from Athens, Ohio

Citations +

Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
'Townships: Scarisbrick', in A History of the County of Lancaster: Volume 3, ed. William Farrer and J Brownbill (London, 1907), pp. 265-276. British History Online http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/lancs/vol3/pp265-276 [accessed 21 January 2017].