Collette History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
France

The ancient Anglo-Saxon surname Collette came from the given name Nicholas. A common diminutive of the name Nicholas was Col and Ard was a Norman French suffix that meant son of. "William Colet was resident in Normandy 1180-95 (Mag. Rot. Scac.); Humphry and William Colet in 1198." 1

Alternatively, the name could have been an occupational name for a "colet, or acolyte, [one] who waited upon the priest and assisted in carrying the bread and wine, in lighting the candles, and performing all subordinate duties.' 2

Early Origins of the Collette family

The surname Collette was first found in Oxfordshire where "the Colletts of this county are mostly found in the Oxford district. The name of Collet was represented in Oddington in the reign of Elizabeth. In the 13th century Colet was an Oxfordshire, Shropshire, and a London name. The "colet" was the old English form of "acolyte," a church servant, and it is remarkable that, as a rule, the homes of the Colletts are, or have been, in the vicinity of ecclesiastical centres." 3

The Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 included: Colett de Sautre, Huntingdonshire; Walter Colet, Salop (Shropshire); and Dyonisia Colet, Oxfordshire and later the Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379 listed

Coleta Elot; Henricus Tayllour, et Collette uxor ejus; and Johannes Colet. 2

Early History of the Collette family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Collette research. Another 151 words (11 lines of text) covering the years 1202, 1273, 1433, 1467, 1480, 1486, 1505 and 1519 are included under the topic Early Collette History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Collette Spelling Variations

The English language only became standardized in the last few centuries; therefore,spelling variations are common among early Anglo-Saxon names. As the form of the English language changed, even the spelling of literate people's names evolved. Collette has been recorded under many different variations, including Collett, Colett, Collet, Coullet, Caullet, Cowlett, Cowllett, Colleyt, Coulett, Caulett, Caullett, Coullett, Collette, Colette, Collete and many more.

Early Notables of the Collette family

Notables of the family at this time include John Colet (1467-1519), a humanist and divine, a friend of Erasmus who helped bring the new learning to England. He was the Dean of St. Paul's, and founder of...
Another 37 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Collette Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Collette Ranking

In the United States, the name Collette is the 4,857^th most popular surname with an estimated 4,974 people with that name. 4 However, in France, the name Collette is ranked the 2,889^th most popular surname with an estimated 2,000 - 2,500 people with that name. 5

Collette migration to the United States +

For many English families, the political and religious disarray that shrouded England made the far away New World an attractive prospect. On cramped disease-ridden ships, thousands migrated to those British colonies that would eventually become Canada and the United States. Those hardy settlers that survived the journey often went on to make important contributions to the emerging nations in which they landed. Analysis of immigration records indicates that some of the first North American immigrants bore the name Collette or a variant listed above:

Collette Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Lambert Nicholas Collette, who landed in New York in 1835 6

Collette 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:

Collette Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Emile Collette, aged 29, a farm labourer, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Dorette" in 1874 7

Contemporary Notables of the name Collette (post 1700) +

Buddy Collette (b. 1921), American jazz musician
Brigadier-General Maurice Collette (1885-1945), French Commanding Officer during World War II 8
Antonia "Toni" Collette (b. 1972), award-winning Australian actress and musician who won a Golden Globe award in 2010
Ned Collette (b. 1979), Australian singer-songwriter
Mrs. Celine Collette Craig M.B.E., Irish Chairman, was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire on 29th December 2018 for services to the community in Londonderry, Northern Ireland 9
Collette Marie Sunderman (b. 1959), née Bennett, American three-time Daytime Emmy Award nominated film director from Sun Valley, California, known for The Powerpuff Girls (1998), Samurai Jack (2001), What's New, Scooby-Doo? (2002), Duck Dodgers (2003) and more
Collette McCallum (b. 1986), Australia women's football player
Collette LeBlanc, American Republican politician, Alternate Delegate to Republican National Convention from Arkansas, 2008 10

Citations +

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)
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/
http://www.journaldesfemmes.com/nom-de-famille/nom/
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)
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 5th November 2010). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
Generals of World War II. (Retrieved 2011, October 3) Maurice Collette. Retrieved from http://generals.dk/general/Collette/Maurice-Albert/France.html
"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
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, November 9) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html