Show ContentsBurt History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The name Burt reached England in the great wave of migration following the Norman Conquest of 1066. It is based on the Norman personal name and was originally spelled Berte. That name is derived from the word berht, which means light. Hence the name could have been a nickname for someone who was "bright, clear or splendid" having derived from the Anglo Saxon word "beorht." [1]

Early Origins of the Burt family

The surname Burt was first found in Norfolk where Thomas de Burt and Hamo Burt were first listed there in the Hundredorum Rolls of 1273. The same rolls also listed Ralph Burte in Leicestershire and Roger Burt in Oxfordshire. [2]

Early History of the Burt family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Burt research. Another 169 words (12 lines of text) covering the years 1066 and 1273 are included under the topic Early Burt History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Burt Spelling Variations

The English language only became standardized in the last few centuries. For that reason, spelling variations are common among many Anglo-Norman names. The shape of the English language was frequently changed with the introduction of elements of Norman French, Latin, and other European languages; even the spelling of literate people's names were subsequently modified. Burt has been recorded under many different variations, including Burt, Burte, Birt, Burts, Berte, Burte, Birte and many more.

Early Notables of the Burt family

Outstanding amongst the family at this time was

  • Burt of Norfolk

Burt World Ranking

In the United States, the name Burt is the 963rd most popular surname with an estimated 29,844 people with that name. [3] However, in Newfoundland, Canada, the name Burt is ranked the 89th most popular surname with an estimated 338 people with that name. [4] And in Australia, the name Burt is the 867th popular surname with an estimated 4,577 people with that name. [5] New Zealand ranks Burt as 404th with 1,627 people. [6] The United Kingdom ranks Burt as 670th with 9,843 people. [7]

Ireland Migration of the Burt family to Ireland

Some of the Burt family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt. More information about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.


United States Burt migration to the United States +

To escape the uncertainty of the political and religious uncertainty found in England, many English families boarded ships at great expense to sail for the colonies held by Britain. The passages were expensive, though, and the boats were unsafe, overcrowded, and ridden with disease. Those who were hardy and lucky enough to make the passage intact were rewarded with land, opportunity, and social environment less prone to religious and political persecution. Many of these families went on to be important contributors to the young nations of Canada and the United States where they settled. Burts were some of the first of the immigrants to arrive in North America:

Burt Settlers in United States in the 17th Century
  • William Burt, who arrived in Virginia aboard the ship "Bonnie Bess" in 1623 [8]
  • Anthonie Burt, aged 20, who arrived in Virginia in 1622 aboard the ship "Hopewell"
  • Edward Burt, aged 8, British settler who landed in New England in 1635 aboard the ship "Abigail" [8]
  • Edward Burt, who landed in Virginia in 1635 [8]
  • Hugh Burt, Jr., aged 15, British settler who arrived in New England in 1635 aboard the ship "Abigail" [8]
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)
Burt Settlers in United States in the 18th Century
  • Richard Burt, who arrived in Virginia in 1703 [8]
  • Thomas Burt, who arrived in Virginia in 1714 [8]
  • Charles Burt, who landed in New York, NY in 1774 [8]
  • Patrick Burt, who landed in South Carolina in 1775 [8]
Burt Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • Edward Burt, who arrived in New York in 1818 [8]
  • William Burt, who landed in New York in 1840 [8]
  • John David Burt, who landed in America in 1849 [8]
  • J W Burt, who arrived in San Francisco, California in 1850 [8]
  • I J Burt, who arrived in San Francisco, California in 1850 [8]
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)
Burt Settlers in United States in the 20th Century
  • Mr. Richard Wesley Burt, (b. 1880), aged 23, Cornish miner, from Perranporth, Cornwall, UK travelling aboard the ship "Cedric" arriving at Ellis Island, New York on 14th June 1903 en route to Norway, Michigan, USA [9]
  • Mr. Thomas Burt, (b. 1884), aged 21, Cornish labourer, from St. Blazey, Cornwall, UK travelling aboard the ship "Caronia" arriving at Ellis Island, New York on 10th April 1905 en route to Greenwood, British Columbia, USA [9]
  • Mr. Thomas John Burt, (b. 1876), aged 29, Cornish miner, from Scorrier, Cornwall, UK travelling aboard the ship "Caronia" arriving at Ellis Island, New York on 30th August 1905 en route to Butte, Montana, USA [9]
  • Mrs. Elizabeth Burt, Cornish settler, from St. Ives, Cornwall, UK travelling aboard the ship "Umbria" arriving at Ellis Island, New York on 22nd October 1905 en route to Calumet, Michigan, USA [9]
  • Miss Grace Burt, Cornish settler, from St. Ives, Cornwall, UK travelling aboard the ship "Umbria" arriving at Ellis Island, New York on 22nd October 1905 en route to Calumet, Michigan, USA [9]

Canada Burt migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Burt Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century
  • William Burt, who landed in Nova Scotia in 1749
  • Mr. Benjamin Burt U.E. (b. 1741) born in Connecticut, USA who settled in Burton, Sunbury County, New Brunswick c. 1783 he served as part of the Queen's Rangers married Rebecca they had 7 children, he died in 1785 [10]
  • Mr. David Burt U.E. (b. 1750) born in Connecticut, USA who settled in Gagetown, Queens County, New Brunswick c. 1783, and then at Keswick in York County, N.B. he served as part of the Queen's Rangers [10]
  • Mr. Joseph Burt U.E. (b. 1765) born in Connecticut, USA who settled in Maquapit Lake, Sunbury County, New Brunswick c. 1783 on a grant of land at #49, then moved to York County he married Elizabeth Burnett in 1791 they had 11 children, he died in 1759 in York County, New Brunswick [10]
Burt Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century
  • James Burt, who arrived in Canada in 1832
  • William Burt, who arrived in Nova Scotia in 1848
  • George Burt, who landed in Esquimalt, British Columbia in 1862
  • Thomas Burt, who arrived in Esquimalt, British Columbia in 1862

Australia Burt migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Burt Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century
  • Mr. John Burt, (b. 1794), aged 29, British soldier who was convicted in Gibralter for life for desertion from the army, transported aboard the "Commodore Hayes" in April 1823, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) [11]
  • Mr. Thomas Burt, English convict who was convicted in Wiltshire, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Eliza" on 2nd February 1831, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) [12]
  • Mr. William Burt, (b. 1818), aged 14 who was convicted in Somerset, England for 14 years for stealing, transported aboard the "Circassian" on 4th November 1832, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) [13]
  • Mr. John Burt, English convict who was convicted in Dorset, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Bardaster" on 7th September 1835, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) [14]
  • William Burt, aged 25, a shepherd, who arrived in Kangaroo Island aboard the ship "Buffalo" in 1836 [15]
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

New Zealand Burt 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:

Burt Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century
  • Henry Wellington Burt, aged 25, a carpenter, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "London" in 1840
  • Ann Burt, aged 24, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "London" in 1840
  • William Burt, who landed in Nelson, New Zealand in 1840
  • James Burt, who landed in Auckland, New Zealand in 1840
  • H W Rington Burt, who landed in Wellington, New Zealand in 1841
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

West Indies Burt migration to West Indies +

The British first settled the British West Indies around 1604. They made many attempts but failed in some to establish settlements on the Islands including Saint Lucia and Grenada. By 1627 they had managed to establish settlements on St. Kitts (St. Christopher) and Barbados, but by 1641 the Spanish had moved in and destroyed some of these including those at Providence Island. The British continued to expand the settlements including setting the First Federation in the British West Indies by 1674; some of the islands include Barbados, Bermuda, Cayman Island, Turks and Caicos, Jamaica and Belize then known as British Honduras. By the 1960's many of the islands became independent after the West Indies Federation which existed from 1958 to 1962 failed due to internal political conflicts. After this a number of Eastern Caribbean islands formed a free association. [16]
Burt Settlers in West Indies in the 17th Century
  • Mr. William Burt, (b. 1612), aged 22, British settler travelling from London, UK arriving in St Christopher (St. Kitts) on 5th January 1634 [8]
  • James Burt, aged 13, who landed in Barbados in 1635 aboard the ship "Falcon" [8]

Contemporary Notables of the name Burt (post 1700) +

  • Brigadier-General Ernest Hill Burt (1892-1984), American Judge Advocate General Representative US Army Forces Far East (1944-1946) [17]
  • Francis Burt (1807-1854), American politician, 1st Governor of the Nebraska Territory
  • Captain James M Burt, American soldier, awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor in 1944
  • Albin Burt (d. 1842), English engraver and portrait-painter [18]
  • Sir Bryce Chudleigh Burt CIE, MBE (1881-1943), English administrator in India during the British Raj period and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts
  • Andrew Burt (b. 1945), English actor
  • Mrs. Janette Elizabeth Burt B.E.M., British Volunteer for Dementia UK was appointed the British Empire Medal on 8th June 2018, for services to those with Dementia and to their Families [19]
  • Ms. Jean Ann Burt B.E.M., British volunteer with the food bank, was appointed Medallist of the British Empire Medal 29th December 2018 for services to the community in Wallingford, Oxfordshire [20]
  • Vera Esther Burt MBE (1927-2017), née Robinson, a New Zealand cricketer and field hockey player
  • Sir Peter Alexander Burt FRSE (1944-2017), Scottish businessman and banker, Chief Executive and later Governor of the Bank of Scotland
  • ... (Another 4 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Empress of Ireland
  • Mr. Clayton Burt (1876-1914), British First Class Passenger returning from Toronto, Ontario, Canada who survived the sinking on the Empress of Ireland [21]
HMAS Sydney II
  • Mr. Alwyn Stewart Burt (1920-1941), Australian Wireman from East Malvern, Victoria, Australia, who sailed into battle aboard HMAS Sydney II and died in the sinking [22]
HMS Royal Oak
  • Ernest Henry Ash Burt (d. 1939), British Leading Signalman with the Royal Navy aboard the HMS Royal Oak (1939) when she was torpedoed by U-47 and sunk; he died in the sinking [23]


Suggested Readings for the name Burt +

  • The Matthew Burt Family of Virginia and Deep South by Robert B. Mathis.

  1. Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
  2. Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
  3. "What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
  4. The order of Common Surnames in 1955 in Newfoundland retrieved on 20th October 2021 (retrieved from Family Names of the Island of Newfoundland by E.R. Seary corrected edition ISBN 0-7735-1782-0)
  5. "Most Common Last Names in Australia." Forebears, https://forebears.io/australia/surnames
  6. "Most Common Last Names in New Zealand." Forebears, https://forebears.io/new-zealand/surnames
  7. "UK surname ranking." UK Surname map, https://www.surnamemap.eu/unitedkingdom/surnames_ranking.php?p=10
  8. 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)
  9. Cornwall Online Parish Clerks. (Retrieved 3rd May 2018). Retrieved from http://www.opc-cornwall.org/Resc/pdfs/emigration_ellis_island_1892_on.pdf
  10. Rubincam, Milton. The Old United Empire Loyalists List. Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc, 1976. (Originally published as; United Empire Loyalists. The Centennial of the Settlement of Upper Canada. Rose Publishing Company, 1885.) ISBN 0-8063-0331-X
  11. Convict Records of Australia. Retrieved 4th March 2021 from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/commodore-hayes
  12. Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 28th February 2022). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/eliza
  13. Convict Records of Australia. Retrieved 8th February 2021 from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/circassian
  14. Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 16th September 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/bardaster
  15. State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) HMS BUFFALO 1836. Retrieved from http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1836Buffalo.htm
  16. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies
  17. Generals of World War II. (Retrieved 2011, November 3) Ernest Burt. Retrieved from http://generals.dk/general/Burt/Ernest_Hill/USA.html
  18. Wikisource contributors. "Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900." Wikisource . Wikisource , 4 Jun. 2018. Web. 5 Feb. 2019
  19. "Birthday and New Year Honours Lists (1940 to 2019)." Issue 62310, 31 October 2019 | London Gazette, The Gazette, June 2018, https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/62310/supplement/B1
  20. "Birthday and New Year Honours Lists (1940 to 2019)." Issue 62507, 28 December 2018 | London Gazette, The Gazette, Dec. 2018, www.thegazette.co.uk/honours-lists
  21. Commemoration Empress of Ireland 2014. (Retrieved 2014, June 16) . Retrieved from http://www.empress2014.ca/seclangen/listepsc1.html
  22. HMAS Sydney II, Finding Sydney Foundation - Roll of Honour. (Retrieved 2014, April 24) . Retrieved from http://www.findingsydney.com/roll.asp
  23. 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


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