Show ContentsCourt History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Early Origins of the Court family

The surname Court was first found in Languedoc.

Early History of the Court family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Court research. Another 83 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1476, 1500, 1508, 1626, 1673, 1692, 1695, 1721, 1772, 1790, 1797, 1821, 1855 and 1893 are included under the topic Early Court History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Court Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Courteau, Court, Lecourt, Courtat, Courtot, Courtet, Courtin, Courtaud, Courtaux, Courtault, Courteau, Courtiau, Courtas, Courte, Courtade, Courtais, Courteault, Courteilles, Courton, Courtier, Courtin and many more.

Early Notables of the Court family

Notable amongst the family name at this time was

  • François Courtot, prominent in the seventeenth century
  • Honoré Courtin, born in 1626, was of a powerful Parisian family which had long been of noble status because of its involvement with the Parisian parliament
  • Jean de Courtade was camp Marshall in 1673
  • Maurice Courten was a knight, count, and lieutenant general in 1692
  • Antoine Court was a pastor in Villeneuve-de-Berg (Ardèche) in 1695
  • Pierre-Louis Courteilles was camp Marshall in 1721
  • Thomas-Ambroise Courtier was a Baron and camp Marshall in 1772
  • Aimable-Henri Courtais was a general and politician in 1790
  • Joseph-Desiré Court was a painter in Rouen in 1797
  • Augustin Courtet was a sculptor in Lyon in 1821
  • Auguste Courtault was a doctor in 1855
  • Jean-Jules-Henri Courteault was an archivist for the national archives in 1893

Court Ranking

In the United States, the name Court is the 15,551st most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 1 However, in France, the name Court is ranked the 2,076th most popular surname with an estimated 3,030 people with that name. 2


United States Court migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Court Settlers in United States in the 17th Century
  • John Court, who landed in Maryland in 1635 3
  • Richard Court, who arrived in Virginia in 1635 3
  • Richard Court who settled in Virginia in 1637
  • Govert Court, who arrived in America in 1647 3
  • William Court, who landed in Virginia in 1650 3
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)
Court Settlers in United States in the 18th Century
  • Francois Court, aged 30, who landed in Louisiana in 1719 3
Court Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • Henry C Court, who arrived in New York in 1841 3

Canada Court migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Court Settlers in Canada in the 17th Century
  • Jean Court, who arrived in Quebec in 1665
Court Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century
  • James Court was an accountant in Montreal in 1851

Australia Court migration to Australia +

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

Court Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century
  • Mr. William Court, (b. 1805), aged 23, English groom who was convicted in Middlesex, England for 7 years for burglary, transported aboard the "Countess of Harcourt" on 29th April 1828, arriving in New South Wales, Australia, he died in 1890 4
  • George Court, English convict from Warwick, who was transported aboard the "Argyle" on March 5th, 1831, settling in Van Diemen's Land, Australia 5
  • Mr. John Court, (b. 1804), aged 29, English convict who was convicted in Somerset, England for life for stealing, transported aboard the "Atlas" on 27th April 1833, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 6
  • Mr. Thomas Court, British Convict who was convicted in London, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Asia" on 20th July 1837, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 7
  • Alfred Court, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Anglia" in 1851 8
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

New Zealand Court 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:

Court Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century
  • Samuel Court, aged 25, who arrived in Lyttelton, New Zealand aboard the ship "Accrington" in 1863 9
  • Sarah Ann Court, aged 20, who arrived in Lyttelton, New Zealand aboard the ship "Accrington" in 1863 9
  • W. P. Court, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Sir George Grey" in 1864
  • Alexander Court, aged 38, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "City of Auckland" in 1872
  • Henry Court, aged 22, a labourer, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Dunedin" in 1875 10
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

West Indies Court 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. 11
Court Settlers in West Indies in the 17th Century
  • Elizabeth Court, who settled in Barbados in 1660

Contemporary Notables of the name Court (post 1700) +

  • Yoann Court (b. 1990), French footballer
  • Tom Court (b. 1980), Australian rugby union footballer
  • Professor Seymour Court, English Director of Child Studies in England
  • David John Court (b. 1944), English former footballer, now turned coach
  • Richard Fairfax Court AC (b. 1947), Western Australian politician, 26th Premier of Western Australia (1993-2001)
  • Sir Charles Walter Michael Court AK, KCMG, OBE (1911-2007), English-born, Australian politician, Premier of Western Australia (1974-1982)
  • Margaret Smith Court AO, MBE (b. 1942), Australian retired World No. 1 professional tennis player
  • Brigadier Walter Court Hyde (b. 1892), Brigadier General Staff Pacific Command (1944-1945) 12
  • William Court Gully (1835-1909), 1st Viscount Selby, Speaker of the British House of Commons
  • Court Coursey (b. 1972), American Managing Partner of TomorrowVentures

Empress of Ireland
  • Miss Emily Florence Court (1881-1914), English Second Class Passenger from Liverpool, England, United Kingdom who survived the sinking on the Empress of Ireland 13
Hillcrest Coal Mine
HMS Hood
  • Mr. William R Court (b. 1918), English Able Seaman serving for the Royal Navy from Manchester, Lancashire, England, who sailed into battle and died in the HMS Hood sinking 15
HMS Prince of Wales
  • Mr. Horace L Court, British Painter 3rd Class from Wales, who sailed into battle on the HMS Prince of Wales (1941) and survived the sinking 16
HMS Repulse
  • Mr. Stanely A Court, British Able Bodied Seaman, who sailed into battle on the HMS Repulse (1941) and survived the sinking 17


  1. "What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
  2. http://www.journaldesfemmes.com/nom-de-famille/nom/
  3. 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)
  4. Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 19th April 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/countess-of-harcourt
  5. State Library of Queensland. (Retrieved 2015, January 8) Argyle voyage to Van Diemen's Land, Australia in 1831 with 251 passengers. Retrieved from http://www.convictrecords.com.au/ships/argyle/1831
  6. Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 14th July 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/atlas
  7. Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 7th February 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/asia/1837
  8. State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) ANGLIA 1851. Retrieved http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1851Anglia.gif
  9. New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 17th October 2018). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
  10. New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 9th November 2011). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
  11. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies
  12. Generals of World War II. (Retrieved 2011, September 15) Walter Hyde. Retrieved from http://generals.dk/general/Hyde/Walter_Court/Canada.html
  13. Commemoration Empress of Ireland 2014. (Retrieved 2014, June 16) . Retrieved from http://www.empress2014.ca/seclangen/listepsc1.html
  14. List Of Miners - Hillcrest Mine Disaster Data. (Retrieved 2014, June 24) . Retrieved from http://www.hillcrestminedisaster.com/data/index.php?title=List_Of_Miners
  15. H.M.S. Hood Association-Battle Cruiser Hood: Crew Information - H.M.S. Hood Rolls of Honour, Men Lost in the Sinking of H.M.S. Hood, 24th May 1941. (Retrieved 2016, July 15) . Retrieved from http://www.hmshood.com/crew/memorial/roh_24may41.htm
  16. HMS Prince of Wales Crew members. (Retrieved 2014, April 9) . Retrieved from http://www.forcez-survivors.org.uk/biographies/listprincecrew.html
  17. HMS Repulse Crew members. (Retrieved 2014, April 9) . Retrieved from http://www.forcez-survivors.org.uk/biographies/listrepulsecrew.html


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