Shortt History, Family Crest & Coats of ArmsThe history of the name Shortt goes back those Anglo-Saxon tribes that once ruled over Britain. Such a name was given to a person who because of their physical characteristics was named short. In this case the surname Shortt can be traced back to the Old English word sceort which means short. The original bearer would have been known as the short one, because of his low stature. As height is one of the most easily distinguished features of a person, names derived from this aspect of a person's physique are by no means rare. Early Origins of the Shortt familyThe surname Shortt was first found in Dorset where one of the first records of the name was Ordic Scort who was listed there in the Pipe Rolls of 1176. Other early records include Richard le Sorte who was listed in the Assize Rolls of 1269 in Somerset and William Short who was listed in the Subsidy Rolls of Sussex of 1327. 1 The Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 list William Short in Suffolk. 2 Early History of the Shortt familyThis web page shows only a small excerpt of our Shortt research. Another 89 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1600, 1603, 1635, 1668, 1675, 1685, 1690, 1772 and 1890 are included under the topic Early Shortt History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible. Shortt Spelling VariationsSound was what guided spelling in the essentially pre-literate Middle Ages, so one person's name was often recorded under several variations during a single lifetime. Also, before the advent of the printing press and the first dictionaries, the English language was not standardized. Therefore, spelling variations were common, even among the names of the most literate people. Known variations of the Shortt family name include Short, Shorte, Shortt, Schorte and others. Early Notables of the Shortt familyDistinguished members of the family include Peter Short (died 1603), a London printer who printed several first editions and early texts of Shakespeare's works.Thomas Short (1635-1685), was an English physician, son of the Rev. William Short, born at Easton, Suffolk. He settled in London and was... Shortt RankingIn the United States, the name Shortt is the 10,562nd most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 3 Migration of the Shortt family to IrelandSome of the Shortt family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
For political, religious, and economic reasons, thousands of English families boarded ships for Ireland, the Canadas, the America colonies, and many of smaller tropical colonies in the hope of finding better lives abroad. Although the passage on the cramped, dank ships caused many to arrive in the New World diseased and starving, those families that survived the trip often went on to make valuable contributions to those new societies to which they arrived. Investigation of the origins of family names on the North American continent has revealed that early immigrants bearing the name Shortt or a variant listed above: Shortt Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
Some of the first settlers of this family name were: Shortt Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century
Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include: Shortt Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century
North Sea Flood
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