Westcott History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms
The Westcott surname is thought to pre-date the Norman invasion of Great Britain. It is derived from the Old English words "West" and "cot," together meaning "west cottage or shelter." The name was used by several different parishes and hamlets in counties Gloucestershire, Buckinghamshire and Berkshire. As a surname, it would have been first used by someone who came from Westcott.
Early Origins of the Westcott family
The surname Westcott was first found in Devon where the first recorded instance of the name seems to be of Westcote, in the Domesday Book of 1086. Other early references include Tubertus de Westcotta, listed in the Pipe Rolls for Berkshire in 1170, and Robert de Westecote listed in the Assize Rolls of Staffordshire in 1221. 1
The Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 list Ricardus de Westkote in Buckinghamshire, Nicholas de Westcote in Oxfordshire, and William de Westcote in Somerset. Kirby's Quest taken during the reign of Edward III lists Richard de Wescote in Somerset. 2 3
"The Westcotts are now established in the North Molton district. Westcote was the name of an old gentle family of Shobrook that dated back to the reign of Henry VIII. The Westacotts are at home in Barnstaple and its vicinity. Martin Westacot was a Barnstaple man in the reign of Anne. Westacott is the name of hamlets in North Devon. There are also hamlets named Westcott in the county. In fact, Westcott and Westcote are common place - names in the south of England. Wescott is the Somerset form of the surname." 4
Early History of the Westcott family
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Westcott research. Another 71 words (5 lines of text) covering the years 1524, 1582, 1624 and 1636 are included under the topic Early Westcott History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Westcott Spelling Variations
Spelling variations of this family name include: Westcote, Westcot, Westcott, Westecott, Westacott and others.
Early Notables of the Westcott family
Notables of the family at this time include
- Sir Thomas Westcote of WestcoteWestcott; and Sebastian Westcott (also spelt Wescott or Westcote) (c.1524-1582), an English organist at St. Paul's Cathedral, best known for staging performances of play...
Westcott Ranking
In the United States, the name Westcott is the 5,427th most popular surname with an estimated 4,974 people with that name. 5
Westcott migration to the United States +
Some of the first settlers of this family name were:
Westcott Settlers in United States in the 17th Century
- Stukeley Westcott (1592–1677), English founding settler to the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations from Ilminster, Somerset in 1636 6
Westcott Settlers in United States in the 18th Century
- Elizabeth Westcott, who arrived in America between 1760 and 1763 6
Westcott Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
- Benjamin Westcott, who landed in Charleston, South Carolina in 1807 6
- S B Westcott, who landed in San Francisco, California in 1850 6
Westcott migration to Canada +
Some of the first settlers of this family name were:
Westcott Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century
- John Westcott, who was a shoreman of St. John's, Newfoundland in 1774 7
Westcott migration to Australia +
Emigration to
Australia followed the
First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:
Westcott Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century
- Miss Jane Westcott, English convict who was convicted in Devon, England for 14 years, transported aboard the "Canada" in March 1810, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 8
- Mr. Thomas Westcott, English errand boy who was convicted in London, England for 7 years for theft, transported aboard the "Florentia" on 14th August 1827, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 9
- Mr. Samuel Westcott, (b. 1811), aged 24, English rope maker who was convicted in Plymouth, Devon, England for 7 years for larceny, transported aboard the "England" on 6th June 1835, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 10
- Mr. Charles Westcott, (b. 1823), aged 20, English labourer who was convicted in Somerset, England for 7 years for larceny, transported aboard the "Cressy" on 28th April 1843, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 11
- Ellen Westcott, aged 27, a servant, who arrived in South Australia in 1854 aboard the ship "Sultana" 12
- ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)
Westcott migration to New Zealand +
Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:
Westcott Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century
- Mr. Westcott, Hawaiian settler travelling from Honolulu via Tahiti aboard the ship "General Worth" arriving in Auckland, New Zealand on 22nd March 1852 13
Contemporary Notables of the name Westcott (post 1700) +
- Carl Westcott (b. 1939), American businessman, founder of 1-800-Flowers
- Paul Westcott (b. 1984), American radio host and political commentator
- Linn Hanson Westcott (1913-1980), American model railroader, editor of Model Railroader magazine
- James Diament Westcott Jr. (1839-1887), American jurist, Florida Supreme Court Justice, Florida Attorney General
- Gordon Westcott (1903-1935), American film actor who appeared in 37 films between 1928 and 1935
- James Edward Westcott (b. 1922), American photographer for the U.S. government, one of the few allowed to photograph during the Manhattan Project
- Helen Westcott (1928-1998), American stage and screen actor, best known for her role opposite Gregory Peck in the western classic The Gunfighter (1950)
- James Diament Westcott Sr. (1802-1880), American politician, United States Senator from Florida (1845-1849)
- Henry Westcott, American founder of Westcott, a school and office products supplier in 1872
- Burton J. Westcott (1868-1926), American automotive businessman who built The Westcott, an automobile produced in Richmond, Indiana and Springfield, Ohio between 1909 and 1925
- ... (Another 33 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)
Historic Events for the Westcott family +
- Mr. William Westcott, British Petty Office Stoker, who sailed into battle on the HMS Prince of Wales (1941) and survived the sinking 14
HMS Royal Oak
- Clifford Westcott, British Sick Berth Chief Petty Officer with the Royal Navy aboard the HMS Royal Oak (1939) when she was torpedoed by U-47 and sunk; he survived the sinking 15
USS Arizona
- Mr. William Percy Westcott Jr., American Seaman First Class from Indiana, USA working aboard the ship "USS Arizona" when she sunk during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on 7th December 1941, he died in the sinking 16
Suggested Readings for the name Westcott +
- Seaboard, Lake Country, and West: A Genealogy of Certain Branches of the Families Finley-Kelley,..Wesctott (et al) by Howard J. Finley.
Citations +
- Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
- 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.
- Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
- Guppy, Henry Brougham, Homes of Family Names in Great Britain. 1890. Print.
- "What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
- 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)
- Seary E.R., Family Names of the Island of Newfoundland, Montreal: McGill's-Queen's Universtity Press 1998 ISBN 0-7735-1782-0
- Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 9th December 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/canada
- Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 5th October 2022). https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/florentia
- Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 28th April 2022). https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/england
- Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 21st May 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/cressy
- South Australian Register Saturday 4th February 1854. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) Sultana 1854. Retrieved http://www.theshipslist.com/ships/australia/sultana1854.shtml
- New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 17th October 2018). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
- HMS Prince of Wales Crew members. (Retrieved 2014, April 9) . Retrieved from http://www.forcez-survivors.org.uk/biographies/listprincecrew.html
- Ships hit by U-boats crew list HMS Royal Oak (08) - (Retrieved 2018 February, 9th) - retrieved from https://uboat.net/allies/merchants/crews/ship68.html
- Pearl Harbour: USS Arizona Casualties List Pearl Harbour December 7, 1941. (Retrieved 2018, July 31st). Retrieved from http://pearl-harbor.com/arizona/casualtylist.html