Heater History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

The illustrious surname Heater finds its origin in the rocky, sea swept coastal area of southwestern England known as Cornwall. Although surnames were fairly widespread in medieval England, people were originally known only by a single name. The process by which hereditary surnames were adopted is extremely interesting. As populations grew, people began to assume an extra name to avoid confusion and to further identify themselves. Under the Feudal System of government, surnames evolved and they often reflected life on the manor and in the field. Lords and their tenants often became known by the name of the feudal territory they owned or lived on. Unlike most Celtic peoples, who favored patronymic names, the Cornish predominantly used local surnames. This was due to the heavy political and cultural influence of the English upon the Cornish People at the time that surnames first came into use. Local surnames were derived from where a person lived, held land, or was born. While many Cornish surnames of this sort appear to be topographic surnames, which were given to people who resided near physical features such as hills, streams, churches, or types of trees, many are actually habitation surnames derived from lost or unrecorded place names. The name Heater is a local type of surname and the Heater family lived in Devon. Their name, however, is derived from the Old English word heah, which means hill or raised land. 1

Early Origins of the Heater family

The surname Heater was first found in Devon, where they held a family seat from ancient times. Early in their history the family branched to Cambridgeshire, where William Haytere was registered in the Assize Rolls of 1260. There was also registry of Reginald le Heytur in 1296. 2

John Haytour was listed in Somerset 1 Edward III (during the first years of Edward III's reign.) 3

Early History of the Heater family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Heater research. Another 99 words (7 lines of text) covering the years 1540, 1611, 1628, 1632, 1634, 1637, 1684, 1687, 1702, 1706, 1726, 1728, 1760 and 1762 are included under the topic Early Heater History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Heater Spelling Variations

Cornish surnames are characterized by a multitude of spelling variations. The frequent changes in surnames are due to the fact that the Old and Middle English languages lacked definite spelling rules. The official court languages, which were Latin and French, were also influential on the spelling of a surname. Since the spelling of surnames was rarely consistent in medieval times, and scribes and church officials recorded names as they sounded rather than adhering to any specific spelling rules, it was common to find the same individual referred to with different spellings of their surname in the ancient chronicles. Moreover, a large number of foreign names were brought into England, which accelerated and accentuated the alterations to the spelling of various surnames. Lastly, spelling variations often resulted from the linguistic differences between the people of Cornwall and the rest of England. The Cornish spoke a unique Brythonic Celtic language which was first recorded in written documents during the 10th century. However, they became increasingly Anglicized, and Cornish became extinct as a spoken language in 1777, although it has been revived by Cornish patriots in the modern era. The name has been spelled Hayter, Haiter, Haytor, Hater and others.

Early Notables of the Heater family

Notable amongst the family at this time was Richard Hayter (1611?-1684), English theological writer, born about 1611, son of William Hayter, fishmonger, of Salisbury, Wiltshire. In 1628 he entered Magdalen Hall, Oxford, as a commoner, and graduated B.A. 26 April 1632, and M.A. 29 Jan. 1634. 4Thomas Hayter (1702-1762), was bishop successively of Norwich and London, baptised at Chagford, Devonshire...
Another 59 words (4 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Heater Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Heater Ranking

In the United States, the name Heater is the 9,561^st most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 5

Heater migration to the United States +

An investigation of the immigration and passenger lists has revealed a number of people bearing the name Heater:

Heater Settlers in United States in the 20th Century

H. Harrison Heater, who arrived in New York in 1906 aboard the ship "Panama" from Colon 6
Herman H. Heater, aged 23, who arrived in New York in 1907 aboard the ship "Panama" from Cristobal, C.Z. 6
Silas Heater, aged 34, who arrived in New York in 1907 aboard the ship "Kaiserin Augusta Victoria" from Cuxhaven, Germany 6
Hubert Heater, aged 23, originally from Winchester, England, who arrived in New York in 1918 aboard the ship "Olympic" from Southampton, England 6

Contemporary Notables of the name Heater (post 1700) +

Danny Heater (b. 1942), American record holder for the highest single game scoring performance by one player in high school basketball history worldwide
Chuck Heater (b. 1952), American football coach and former player

Historic Events for the Heater family +

USS Arizona

Mr. Verrell Roy Heater, American Seaman First Class from Oregon, USA working aboard the ship "USS Arizona" when she sunk during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on 7th December 1941, he died in the sinking 7

Citations +

Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
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.
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/
Ellis Island Search retrieved 15th November 2022. Retrieved from https://heritage.statueofliberty.org/passenger-result
Pearl Harbour: USS Arizona Casualties List Pearl Harbour December 7, 1941. (Retrieved 2018, July 31st). Retrieved from http://pearl-harbor.com/arizona/casualtylist.html