Show ContentsAcket History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The English name Acket was a patronymic for "the name of an ancestor as in 'the son of Hake.' Though forgotten now Hake, Haket, and Hacon were very familiar in the surname period. Hake still survives in Yorkshire as Haggitt (compare Hick and Higg), more generally Hackett. " 1

"Occasionally we may have a nickname from a fish: as John Hakede 1327 (Subsidy Rolls for Suffolk), Roger Hakat 1327 (Subsidy Rolls for Cheshire), from hacaed (haket) ‘a kind of fish’ mentioned in a 14th-century copy of the foundation charter of the Abbey of Ramsey." 2

Early Origins of the Acket family

The surname Acket was first found in Berkshire where Walter Achet was listed in the Domesday Book of 1086. 3 4

Later in Lincolnshire the following records appeared as a forename: Haket de Rodefort (c. 1160-1166); and Haket filius Clas found in the Feet of Fines in 1193. Early Durham records listed Ralph Hacget in 1131. Rolland Haget, Haket, was listed in 1158 and 1179 in the Pipe Rolls of Yorkshire and Lincolnshire and Geoffrey Haget, Hachet was listed in the Pipe Rolls for Yorkshire in 1191. 2

In the Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 we found: Mabil Haket, Lincolnshire; Ralph Haket, Buckinghamshire; and Robert Haket, London who were all listed as holding in their respective counties at that time. Later the Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379 included: Thomas Haket; and Johanna Haket. 1

According to Testa de Nevill, sive Liber Feodorum, temp. Henry III-Edward I., Rolland Haket in Lincolnshire held lands there from the reigns of Henry III to Edward I. 5

John Haget was listed in Somerset and Roger Haket in Lincolnshire, 1 Edward III (during the first year of the reign of King Edward III.) 6

Further to the north in Scotland, "Sir Henry Hakette witnessed a charter by Henry de Graham, c. 1230. Richard Haket was juror on inquisition at Dumfries, 1259, and Sir Walter Haket was in the service of Robert de Brus, Earl of Carrick, 1298." 7

Early History of the Acket family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Acket research. Another 172 words (12 lines of text) covering the years 1390, 1415, 1427, 1432, 1437, 1463, 1499, 1537, 1559, 1569, 1573, 1586, 1591, 1592, 1621, 1641, 1670, 1737, 1767 and 1802 are included under the topic Early Acket History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Acket Spelling Variations

Intuition and sound were the primary sources medieval scribes used to judge appropriate spellings and translations for names. The spelling of a name thus varied according to who was doing the recording. The different spelling variations of Acket include Hackett, Haggitt, Haggett, Haket, Acket, Acketts and others.

Early Notables of the Acket family

Distinguished members of the family include

  • John Hacket (1592-1670), Bishop of Coventry and Lichfield, was born in St. Martin's, Strand, 1 Sept. 1592. His father, Andrew Hacket, a prosperous tailor of Scottish extraction, was a senior burgess o...
  • Roger Hacket (1559-1621), was an English divine, son of Sir Cuthbert Hacket, Lord Mayor of London, born in the parish of St. James, Garlick Hythe, London, obtained a scholarship at Winchester College...
  • William Hacket (d. 1591), was a fanatic, "born at Oundle, Northamptonshire, was a serving-man in the households successively of one Hussey, of Sir Thomas Tresham, and of Sir Charles Morrison, all Nort...


United States Acket migration to the United States +

In their new home, Scots found land and opportunity, and some even fought for their new freedom in the American War of Independence. Some, who remained loyal to the crown went north to Canada as United Empire Loyalists. In this century, the ancestors of both of these groups have begun recovering their illustrious national heritage through Clan societies and other Scottish historical organizations. Early immigration and passenger lists indicate many people bearing the Acket name:

Acket Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • A Acket, who arrived in San Francisco, California in 1851 8


  1. Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
  2. Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
  3. Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
  4. Cleveland, Dutchess of The Battle Abbey Roll with some Account of the Norman Lineages. London: John Murray, Abermarle Street, 1889. Print. Volume 2 of 3
  5. Testa de Nevill or "Liber Feodorum" or "Book of Fees," thought to have been written by Ralph de Nevill, for King John (1199–1216)
  6. 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.
  7. Black, George F., The Surnames of Scotland Their Origin, Meaning and History. New York: New York Public Library, 1946. Print. (ISBN 0-87104-172-3)
  8. 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)


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