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Charlet is a name that first reached England following the Norman Conquest of 1066. The Charlet family lived in Worcestershire. The Charlet family was originally from Charlett, Normandy, and it is from this place that their surname derives. Charlett comes from a baptismal name which means Charles, which stems from the Old French name, Charlys. As the naming tradition grew in Europe baptismal names began to be introduced in many countries. Baptismal names were sometimes given in honor of Christian saints and other biblical figures. There are hardly any Christian countries in Europe that did not adopt surnames from these religious figures.
The surname Charlet was first found in Leicestershire at Charley or Chorley, an extra-parochial liberty, in the union of Loughborough, hundred of West Goscote. "The ancient forest of Charley, or Charnwood, twenty miles in circuit, was disafforested soon after the Conquest; its privileges were restored by Henry II., but finally abolished by Henry III. The Hall is a plain brick building, with pleasant grounds. A society of eremites, of the order of St. Augustine, settled here in the reign of Henry II., by the favour of Robert Blanchmains, Earl of Leicester; but in the time of Edward II. it was united to one at Ulverscroft, where a priory of Regular canons, dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary, continued until the Dissolution." 1
Charley is also a hamlet in the parish of Farewell, union of Lichfield, S. division of the hundred of Offlow in Staffordshire.
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Charlet research. Another 62 words (4 lines of text) covering the years 1655, 1697, 1706, 1716, 1717 and 1722 are included under the topic Early Charlet History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
It is only in the last few hundred years that the English language has been standardized. For that reason, Anglo-Norman surnames like Charlet are characterized by many spelling variations. Scribes and monks in the Middle Ages spelled names they sounded, so it is common to find several variations that refer to a single person. As the English language changed and incorporated elements of other European languages such as Norman French and Latin, even literate people regularly changed the spelling of their names. The variations of the name Charlet include Charley, Charly, Charlet, Charlett, Charlette and others.
Outstanding amongst the family at this time was
In France, the name Charlet is the 731st most popular surname with an estimated 6,689 people with that name. 2
Faced with the chaos present in England at that time, many English families looked towards the open frontiers of the New World with its opportunities to escape oppression and starvation. People migrated to North America, as well as Australia and Ireland in droves, paying exorbitant rates for passages in cramped, unsafe ships. Many of the settlers did not make the long passage alive, but those who did see the shores of North America were welcomed with great opportunity. Many of the families that came from England went on to make essential contributions to the emerging nations of Canada and the United States. Some of the first immigrants to cross the Atlantic and come to North America carried the name Charlet, or a variant listed above: