The ancestors of the Guyatt family first reached the shores of England in the wave of migration after the Norman Conquest of 1066. Their name is derived from Guyat, a pet form of the Old French given name Guy.
The surname Guyatt was first found in Sussex though the name "has gone through the various forms of Wyat, Wiat, Wyot, and Guyot, or Guiot. The last-named three are used indifferently in the time of King John, and clearly prove the derivation of the name as a diminutive, from the Norman-French personal name Gui or Guido, which we have also received in the form of Guy. The name Guyatt is still found in West Sussex." [1]
There are scat records of the name in Scotland as Black notes "Maucolum Wyet of county Anegos rendered homage, 1296. Nothing more is known of him. " [2]
The Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 proved the widespread use of the name both as a forename and surname: Ayote uxor Wyot, Shropshire; Henry Wyot, Cambridgeshire; Wyott le Carpentier, Buckinghamshire; and Wyot de Dudelebury in Shropshire. [3]
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Guyatt research. Another 167 words (12 lines of text) covering the years 1554, 1746, 1813, 1460, 1537, 1503, 1542, 1536, 1521, 1554, 1550, 1623, 1588, 1644, 1616, 1685, 1663, 1731 and 1663 are included under the topic Early Guyatt History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Endless spelling variations are a prevailing characteristic of Norman surnames. Old and Middle English lacked any definite spelling rules, and the introduction of Norman French added an unfamiliar ingredient to the English linguistic stew. French and Latin, the languages of the court, also influenced spellings. Finally, Medieval scribes generally spelled words according to how they sounded, so one person was often referred to by different spellings in different documents. The name has been spelled Wyatt, Wyat and others.
Outstanding amongst the family at this time was Sir Henry Wyatt (1460-1537), an English courtier from Yorkshire; and his son, Sir Thomas Wyatt (1503-1542), an early English language poet and statesman, knighted by Henry VIII in 1536; Sir Thomas Wyatt the Younger (1521-1554), an English rebel leader during the reign of Mary I of England; his rising is traditionally called "Wyatt's rebellion"; George...
Another 63 words (4 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Guyatt Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.