Bullit History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

Etymology of Bullit

What does the name Bullit mean?

The ancestry of the name Bullit dates from the ancient Anglo-Saxon culture of Britain. It comes from when the family lived in Surrey. "Whilst this may occasionally be a late development of BULLED ‘bull-head’, as regularly explained, the main source is clearly different. We have probably a diminutive of Old French boule ‘round’ found in the French surnames Boule, Boulle, Boulot, Bou/et, Boullot and Boullet which Dauzat explains as ‘un individu gros, arrondi’. The noun bullet is from French boulet, a diminutive of boule ‘ball’ " 1

Another source claims the name denoted a "dweller at the sign of the bull's head; one with a bull-shaped head." 2

Early Origins of the Bullit family

The surname Bullit was first found in Surrey where Robert le Bulet was recorded in the Curia Regis Rolls of 1194. Also in Surrey, we found the Subsidy Rolls of 1290 listed Robert le Bolete there as holding lands. 1

Early History of the Bullit family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Bullit research. Another 54 words (4 lines of text) covering the years 1273, 1379, 1639, 1699, 1716, 1751 and 1775 are included under the topic Early Bullit History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Bullit Spelling Variations

Spelling variations in names were a common occurrence before English spelling was standardized a few hundred years ago. In the Middle Ages, even the literate spelled their names differently as the English language incorporated elements of French, Latin, and other European languages. Many variations of the name Bullit have been found, including Bullhead, Bullitt, Bullet, Bullett, Boleheved, Bullit, Bullhed and many more.

Early Notables of the Bullit family

Adam Bullhead, a prominent 14th century landholder in Yorkshire. Some of family remained in France as we found Pierre Bullet (c. 1639-1716) was a French architect, one of the students of...
Another 30 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Bullit Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Bullit migration to the United States +

Families began migrating abroad in enormous numbers because of the political and religious discontent in England. Often faced with persecution and starvation in England, the possibilities of the New World attracted many English people. Although the ocean trips took many lives, those who did get to North America were instrumental in building the necessary groundwork for what would become for new powerful nations. Some of the first immigrants to cross the Atlantic and come to North America bore the name Bullit, or a variant listed above:

Bullit Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Jaime Bullit, who landed in Puerto Rico in 1860 3

Contemporary Notables of the name Bullit (post 1700) +

William Bullit, first American ambassador to the Soviet Union

Sources +

Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
Smith, Eldson Coles, New Dictionary of American Family Names New York: Harper & Row, 1956. Print
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)