Buter History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Scotland
England

The chronicles of the Buter family reach back into Scottish history to an ancient tribe known as the Picts. The ancestors of the Buter family lived in the counties of Perth and Fife (now in the modern regions of Tayside and Fife, respectively), and is likely from the village of Buttergask in the parish of Ardoch.

Researchers have mixed feelings about the origin of the name. One source notes "Boterus and Botorus are found as personal names in Domesday Book." 1 Another found in the Magni Rotuli Scaccarii Normanniae, a listing of "Ralph and Sylvester Butor in Normandy in 1198." 2 And another claims the name is from "the Old Norse, Buttr; from the Danish, Butho; from the Dutch, Boot, Buter, Butti; from the French, Buteau." 3

Early Origins of the Buter family

The surname Buter was first found in Fife and Perthshire where they held a family seat from very ancient times, some say well before the Norman Conquest and the arrival of Duke William at Hastings in 1066 A.D.

Further to the south in England, the Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 listed: John le Butur, Cambridgeshire; John le Botur, Cambridgeshire; and John Botere, Huntingdonshire. 4

Early History of the Buter family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Buter research. Another 110 words (8 lines of text) covering the years 1600, 1608, 1664, 1672 and 1767 are included under the topic Early Buter History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Buter Spelling Variations

When the first dictionaries were invented in the last few hundred years, spelling gradually became standardized. Before that time, scribes spelled according to sound. Names were often recorded under different spelling variations every time they were written. Buter has been written Buttar, Butter, Butters, Buttars and others.

Early Notables of the Buter family

Another 37 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Buter Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Buter migration to the United States +

The crossing to North America did not seem so great in comparison with the hardships many Scots endured at home. It was long, expensive, and cramped, but also rewarding. North America offered land and the chance for settlers to prove themselves in a new place. And many did prove themselves as they fought to forge a new nation in the American War of Independence. The ancestors of those Scots can now experience much of their once-lost heritage through the Clan societies and highland games that have sprung up across North America in the last century. A search of immigration and passenger lists revealed many important, early immigrants to North America bearing the name of Buter:

Buter Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Detz Buter, aged 18, who arrived in New York, NY in 1847 5
Dusk Buter, aged 16, who landed in New York, NY in 1847 5
Eliz Buter, aged 60, who arrived in New York, NY in 1847 5
W N Buter, aged 68, who landed in New York, NY in 1847 5

Contemporary Notables of the name Buter (post 1700) +

Yvonne Buter (b. 1959), Dutch field hockey goalkeeper
Piet Buter (b. 1950), Dutch association football coach
Jacobje Jantje "Cobie" Buter (b. 1946), Dutch bronze medalist swimmer at the 1970 European Championships

The Buter Motto +

The motto was originally a war cry or slogan. Mottoes first began to be shown with arms in the 14th and 15th centuries, but were not in general use until the 17th century. Thus the oldest coats of arms generally do not include a motto. Mottoes seldom form part of the grant of arms: Under most heraldic authorities, a motto is an optional component of the coat of arms, and can be added to or changed at will; many families have chosen not to display a motto.

Motto: Diriget Deus
Motto Translation: God will direct it.

Citations +

Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
The Norman People and Their Existing Descendants in the British Dominions and the United States Of America. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing, 1975. Print. (ISBN 0-8063-0636-X)
Barber, Henry, British Family Names London: Elliot Stock, 62 Paternoster Row, 1894. 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)
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)