Show ContentsAlet History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Etymology of Alet

What does the name Alet mean?

The name Alet was carried to England in the enormous movement of people that followed the Norman Conquest of 1066. The Alet family lived in Dorset. The original derivation of the name, however, is not related to that area, but is probably a geographical reference to some lost town, village, or parish. It is plausible that this place was in Staffordshire, as the name is extremely common in that area.

Early Origins of the Alet family

The surname Alet was first found in Yorkshire in eastern England, having arrived there soon after the Norman Conquest from what is now Belgium, but being of Norman origin.

Early History of the Alet family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Alet research. Another 213 words (15 lines of text) covering the years 1199, 1212, 1273, 1286, 1332, 1379, 1579, 1581, 1587, 1590, 1591, 1600, 1707, 1750 and 1781 are included under the topic Early Alet History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Alet Spelling Variations

Multitudes of spelling variations are a hallmark of Anglo Norman names. Most of these names evolved in the 11th and 12th century, in the time after the Normans introduced their own Norman French language into a country where Old and Middle English had no spelling rules and the languages of the court were French and Latin. To make matters worse, medieval scribes spelled words according to sound, so names frequently appeared differently in the various documents in which they were recorded. The name was spelled Allott, Allett, Allette, Hallott, Arlette, Arlett, Allet, Alett, Alet, Allatt, Alatt, Allat, Allatte, Allot, Allote, Alot, Alitt, Ailet, Alyet, Alletson, Aletson, Alotessone and many more.

Early Notables of the Alet family

John Allott, Lord Mayor of London in 1591, one of the highest political posts in England at that time. William Allott (d. 1590?), was an English Catholic divine. A native of Lincolnshire, he received his education in the University of Cambridge, though he does not appear to have graduated. When Queen Elizabeth came to the throne, he retired to the continent, and took up his residence at Louvain, where he studied divinity for some years and was ordained priest. He afterwards lived for...
Another 81 words (6 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Alet Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Alet family

Because of this political and religious unrest within English society, many people decided to immigrate to the colonies. Families left for Ireland, North America, and Australia in enormous numbers, traveling at high cost in extremely inhospitable conditions. The New World in particular was a desirable destination, but the long voyage caused many to arrive sick and starving. Those who made it, though, were welcomed by opportunities far greater than they had known at home in England. Many of these families went on to make important contributions to the emerging nations of Canada and the United States. Analysis of immigration records indicates that some of the first North American immigrants bore the name Alet or a variant listed above: Peter Allott who settled in Virginia in 1655; Andrew Hallet settled in Virginia in 1620; about the time of the "Mayflower," followed by Andrew Hallett in Massachusetts in 1635.



Houseofnames.com on Facebook