Barlett History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

The name Barlett came to England with the ancestors of the Barlett family in the Norman Conquest of 1066. It comes from the personal name Bartholomew, and in its altered form is a baptismal name meaning Bartholomew. 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 very few Christian countries in Europe that did not adopt surnames from these religious figures.

Early Origins of the Barlett family

The surname Barlett was first found in Sussex, where "the head of this family, according to Dallaway, may be considered one of the most ancient proprietors of land residing upon this estate in this county. The first in the pedigree is Adam de Bartelott, said to be of Norman origin, father of John, who married Joan Stopham, coheiress of lands in the manor from whence the name is derived." 1

Another reference claim "the Barttelots of Stopham have a tradition that they came into England at the Conquest, and settled at a place called La Ford, in that parish, in which they still reside." 2

In Norfolk, Godricus Bertelot was recorded c. 1157 and later the Subsidy Rolls of Sussex recorded Walter Bertelot in 1296. Thomas Bartelot was listed in the Feet of Fines for Cambridgeshire in 1294 and in the Subsidy Rolls for Sussex in 1327. 3

The church of Stopham contains a long series of the family's monuments. "The church is partly in the early and partly in the decorated English style, with a square tower; the pavement is almost entirely composed of large slabs of Sussex marble, inlaid with brass figures and memorials of the Barttelot family, and in the windows are representations of some of the Barttelots and Stophams in stained glass, said to have been removed from the ball windows of the old manor-house." 4

"The variants were numerous. It is quite evident that Bartlet or Bartlot was the popular nick, for this then favourite Apostolic name." For this reason, the Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 attempts to show the various spellings: Bartelot (without surname), Bedfordshire; Thomas Bartholot, Cambridgeshire; William Bartolot, Oxfordshire; Bartelot Govi, Huntingdonshire; Alan Bartelet, Cambridgeshire; and Richard Bartelot, Oxfordshire. 5

To the north in Yorkshire, the Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379 included: Thomas Bartlot; and Robertus Bartlot. 5

Early History of the Barlett family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Barlett research. Another 66 words (5 lines of text) covering the years 1069, 1471, 1501, 1557, 1566, 1662, 1682 and 1944 are included under the topic Early Barlett History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Barlett Spelling Variations

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 Bartlett, Bartlet, Bartlette, Bartolet, Bartelot and many more.

Early Notables of the Barlett family

Outstanding amongst the family at this time was John Barthlet or Bartlett (fl. 1566), an English theological writer. John Bartlet (fl. 1662), was an English nonconformist divine, educated at the University of Cambridge and William Bartlet (died 1682), was an English independent minister, educated at New Inn Hall, Oxford. 6Richard Bartlot (1471-1557), was an English physician, Fellow of All Souls' College, and took the degree...
Another 65 words (5 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Barlett Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Barlett Ranking

In the United States, the name Barlett is the 12,904^th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 7

Barlett migration to the United States +

Because of the political and religious discontent in England, families began to migrate abroad in enormous numbers. Faced with persecution and starvation at home, the open frontiers and generally less oppressive social environment of the New World seemed tantalizing indeed to many English people. The trip was difficult, and not all made it unscathed, but many of those who did get to Canada and the United States made important contributions to the young nations in which they settled. Some of the first North American settlers with Barlett name or one of its variants:

Barlett Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Johan Wolff Barlett, who landed in Pennsylvania in 1732 8

Contemporary Notables of the name Barlett (post 1700) +

Joe Barlett, American Republican politician, Candidate for U.S. Representative from West Virginia 1st District, 1980 9
Ara Barlett, American politician, Justice of Dakota Territorial Supreme Court, 1864-69 9

Citations +

Shirley, Evelyn Philip, The Noble and Gentle Men of England; The Arms and Descents. Westminster: John Bower Nichols and Sons, 1866, Print.
Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, 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)
Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. 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)
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2016, January 21) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html