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The surname Hammitt was first found in Berkshire, where they held a family seat as Lords of the Manor. After the Battle of Hastings in 1066, William, Duke of Normandy, having prevailed over King Harold, granted most of Britain to his many victorious Barons. It was not uncommon to find a Baron, or a Bishop, with 60 or more Lordships scattered throughout the country. These he gave to his sons, nephews and other junior lines of his family and they became known as under-tenants. They adopted the Norman system of surnames which identified the under-tenant with his holdings so as to distinguish him from the senior stem of the family. After many rebellious wars between his Barons, Duke William, commissioned a census of all England to determine in 1086, settling once and for all, who held which land. He called the census the Domesday Book, 1 indicating that those holders registered would hold the land until the end of time. Hence, conjecturally, the surname is descended from the tenant of the lands of Waltham held by a steward of the King who was recorded in the Domesday Book census of 1086.
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Hammitt research. Another 80 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1080, 1327 and 1786 are included under the topic Early Hammitt History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Before the advent of the printing press and the first dictionaries, the English language was not standardized. Sound was what guided spelling in the Middle Ages, so one person's name was often recorded under several variations during a single lifetime. Spelling variations were common, even among the names of the most literate people. Known variations of the Hammitt family name include Hammetr, Hammett, Hamet, Hamat, Hammatt, Hammat and others.
More information is included under the topic Early Hammitt Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
In the United States, the name Hammitt is the 17,748th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 2