Pleat History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Ireland

The ancestors of the bearers of the Pleat family name are thought have lived in ancient Anglo-Saxon England. They were first found by a small patch of land. Pleat is a topographic surname, which was given to a person who resided near a 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.

Early Origins of the Pleat family

The surname Pleat was first found in Lancashire where they held a family seat from early times and their first records appeared on the early census rolls taken by the early Kings of Britain to determine the rate of taxation of their subjects.

Early History of the Pleat family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Pleat research. Another 61 words (4 lines of text) covering the years 1552, 1608, 1632, 1638, 1640, 1669, 1678, 1694, 1696, 1705 and 1890 are included under the topic Early Pleat History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Pleat Spelling Variations

Until quite recently, the English language has lacked a definite system of spelling rules. Consequently, Anglo-Saxon surnames are characterized by a multitude of spelling variations. Changes in Anglo-Saxon names were influenced by the evolution of the English language, as it incorporated elements of French, Latin, and other languages. Although Medieval scribes and church officials recorded names as they sounded, so it is common to find one person referred to by several different spellings of his surname, even the most literate people varied the spelling of their own names. Variations of the name Pleat include Platt, Plat, Platte, Plait, Plate, Blatt and others.

Early Notables of the Pleat family

Notables of the family at this time include Sir Hugh Plat or Platt (1552-1608), English writer on agriculture and inventor from Garlickhythe; and John Platt (1632-1705), an English immigrant to America from Ware, Hertfordshire to settle in Norwalk, Connecticut and rose to become a Member of the General Court of the Colony of Connecticut from Norwalk (1678-1694.) Gabriel Plattes (fl. 1638), was an English writer, said to have been of Dutch extraction, was one of the earliest advocates...
Another 76 words (5 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Pleat Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Pleat family to Ireland

Some of the Pleat family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 57 words (4 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Pleat family

Searching for a better life, many English families migrated to British colonies. Unfortunately, the majority of them traveled under extremely harsh conditions: overcrowding on the ships caused the majority of the immigrants to arrive diseased, famished, and destitute from the long journey across the ocean. For those families that arrived safely, modest prosperity was attainable, and many went on to make invaluable contributions to the development of the cultures of the new colonies. Research into the origins of individual families in North America revealed records of the immigration of a number of people bearing the name Pleat or a variant listed above: Gilbert Platt, who came to Virginia in 1635; John Platt, who settled in New York in 1679; Alfred, Euclid, Francis, George, Henry, James, John, Joseph, Robert, Samuel, Thomas and William Platt, who all arrived in Philadelphia between 1800 and 1865..