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Jillett is one of the thousands of new names that the Norman Conquest of 1066 brought to England. It comes from a diminution of the medieval given name Giles. That name is derived from the Greek aigidion, which means kid, or young goat. 1
"In England there are numerous families who write their name Gillett and Gillot, all of French extraction." 2
"Oxfordshire is now the principal home of the Gilletts, but the name is also found in Kent. In Lincolnshire the name is represented by Gilliart, Gilliatt, and Gillyatt." 3
"The family may have come with William the Conqueror into England, from Gillette, a town in Piedmont, France. Gillette, the son of Giles." 4
The surname Jillett was first found in Oxfordshire, but also many other shires throughout ancient Britain. Listed as both a forename and surname in many early rolls, the name quickly spread.
This tradition continued even until the 14th century where the Yorkshire Polls Tax Rolls of 1379 list: Thomas Taylour et Gillot uxor ejus; Robertus Lyster et Gillot' uxor ejus; Gillote Fox; Johannes Gilotson; Willelmus Gilliote; Johannes Undyrhyll et Gyllot' uxor ejus; Willelmus Gehot; and Johannes Gylyott. 5
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Jillett research. Another 68 words (5 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Jillett History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Anglo-Norman names tend to be marked by an enormous number of spelling variations. This is largely due to the fact that Old and Middle English lacked any spelling rules when Norman French was introduced in the 11th century. The languages of the English courts at that time were French and Latin. These various languages mixed quite freely in the evolving social milieu. The final element of this mix is that medieval scribes spelled words according to their sounds rather than any definite rules, so a name was often spelled in as many different ways as the number of documents it appeared in. The name was spelled Gillette, Gilliott, Gillet, Gillott, Gillett and others.
More information is included under the topic Early Jillett Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.