Contents [hide]

Hatchett History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

Contemporary Notables Related Stories Motto Citations

Hatchett History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Ireland
England

The Strongbownians added their own naming traditions to the eastern region of Ireland to which they arrived. The impact of this new tradition was not extremely disruptive to the pre-existing Irish tradition because the two had many similarities. Both cultures made significant use of hereditary surnames. And like the Irish, the Strongbownians often used prefixes to build patronymic surnames, which are names based on the given name of the initial bearer's father or another older relative. Strongbow's followers often created names that were built with the prefix Fitz-, which was derived from the French word fils, and ultimately from the Latin filius, both of which mean son. They also used diminutive suffixes such as -ot, -et, -un, -in, or -el, and occasionally even two suffixes combined to form a double diminutive such as -el-in, -el-ot, -in-ot, and -et-in, to build patronymic names. The surname Hatchett is derived from the medieval given names Hack or Hake. These English names were derived from the Old Norse name Haki, which is a cognate of the English name Hook and was originally given to someone with a hunched figure or a hooked nose. Before being imported to Ireland, the surname Hatchett was chiefly popular in the western midlands of England. The Gaelic form of the name Hatchett is Haicéid.

Early Origins of the Hatchett family

The surname Hatchett was first found in County Kilkenny (Irish: Cill Chainnigh), the former Kingdom of Osraige (Ossory), located in Southeastern Ireland in the province of Leinster, where they had been granted lands by Strongbow for their assistance in the invasion of Ireland in 1172.

They were also granted lands in counties Carlow, Kildare and one branch moved into Connacht where "they formed a distinct if small sept which was known as MacHackett, their seat being Castle Hackett, six miles south-east of Tuam." 1

They were originally from Harcourt in Normandy and their name appears on the Honour Roll of the Battell Abbey as being present at the Battle of Hastings. "The Hackets of Niton on the Isle of Wight were descendants of Haket on the Battle Abbey Roll. The eventual heiress, Agnes, dau. of John Hackett, Esq. of Niton, m. John Lye, Esq., of Dorsetshire, and was mother of Anne Lye, wife of Sir James Woraley, constable of Carisbrook Castle." 2

"Dominus Paganus de Haket, another soldier at Hastings accompanied Henry II to Ireland where he acquired broad lands and seigneuries there; and his descendants, generation after generation, were parliamentary Barons, and potent Magnates in the sister kingdom. "2

Early History of the Hatchett family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Hatchett research. Another 54 words (4 lines of text) covering the years 1180, 1195, 1559, 1566, 1592, 1601, 1621, 1625, 1626, 1670, 1676, 1689 and 1706 are included under the topic Early Hatchett History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Hatchett Spelling Variations

It was found during an investigation of the origins of the name Hatchett that church officials and medieval scribes often spelled the name as it sounded. This practice lead to a single person's being documented under many spelling variations. The name Hatchett has existed in the various shapes: Hackett, Hackert, Hacket, Halkett and others.

Early Notables of the Hatchett family

Notable amongst the family up to this time was

John Securis (fl. 1566) was a medical writer, born in England. His name was a Latinized version of the surname Hatchett. 3

Hatchett Ranking

In the United States, the name Hatchett is the 3,932^nd most popular surname with an estimated 7,461 people with that name. 4

Hatchett migration to the United States +

In the 1840s, Ireland experienced a mass exodus to North America due to the Great Potato Famine. These families wanted to escape from hunger and disease that was ravaging their homeland. With the promise of work, freedom and land overseas, the Irish looked upon British North America and the United States as a means of hope and prosperity. Those that survived the journey were able to achieve this through much hard work and perseverance. Early immigration and passenger lists revealed many bearing the name Hatchett:

Hatchett Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Elizabeth Hatchett, who landed in Virginia in 1642 5

Hatchett Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

James Hatchett, who arrived in Virginia in 1701 5

Hatchett Settlers in United States in the 20th Century

John Hatchett, aged 17, arrived in New York City, New York in 1919 aboard the ship "Thorvald Halverson" from Bergen, Norway 6
Peter Hatchett, aged 40, arrived in New York in 1919 aboard the ship "Bar Harbor" from Havana, Cuba 6
William A. Hatchett, originally from Portsmouth, arrived in New York City, New York in 1919 aboard the ship "Royal George" from Southampton, England 6

Hatchett migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Hatchett Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Joseph Hatchett, English convict from Middlesex, who was transported aboard the "Albion" on May 29, 1828, settling in New South Wales, Australia 7
Mr. Samuel Hatchett, English convict who was convicted in Devizes, Wiltshire, England for 15 years, transported aboard the "Cressy" on 28th April 1843, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 8

Contemporary Notables of the name Hatchett (post 1700) +

Joseph Woodrow Hatchett (1932-2021), American jurist, Chief Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit (1996-1999)
W. Russell Hatchett, American Democratic Party politician, Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Virginia, 1948 9
Truly Hatchett, American Democratic Party politician, Alternate Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Maryland, 1956 9
Thomas M. Hatchett, American Democratic Party politician, Alternate Delegate to Democratic National Convention from California, 1916 9
Thomas Henry Hatchett (b. 1865), American Democratic Party politician, Member of North Carolina State House of Representatives from Caswell County, 1913-14 9
Mrs. Roy Hatchett, American Democratic Party politician, Alternate Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Colorado, 1944 9
Mrs. R. L. Hatchett Jr., American Republican politician, Alternate Delegate to Republican National Convention from Texas, 1952 9
Ed Hatchett, American Democratic Party politician, Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Kentucky, 1996 9
Charles K. Hatchett, American politician, Representative from Kentucky 1st District, 1988 9

The Hatchett 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: Spes mea Deus
Motto Translation: God is my hope.

Citations +

MacLysaght, Edward, Irish Families Their Names, Arms and Origins 4th Edition. Dublin: Irish Academic, 1982. Print. (ISBN 0-7165-2364-7)
Burke, John Bernard, The Roll of Battle Abbey. London: Edward Churton, 26, Holles Street, 1848, Print.
Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. 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)
Ellis Island Search retrieved 15th November 2022. Retrieved from https://heritage.statueofliberty.org/passenger-result
State Library of Queensland. (Retrieved 2014, November 24) Albion voyage to New South Wales, Australia in 1828 with 192 passengers. Retrieved from http://www.convictrecords.com.au/ships/albion/1828
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 21st May 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/cressy
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2016, February 3) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html