Show ContentsHallatt History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The Hallatt family has descended from the ancient Anglo-Saxon word "haletta," meaning "one who is hailed or greeted-a hero, an eminent man." 1

Other sources claim the name came from the expression "of the hall head" 2 or "dweller at the Hall-Head land." 3

Early Origins of the Hallatt family

The surname Hallatt was first found in Kent 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.

Early History of the Hallatt family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Hallatt research. Another 71 words (5 lines of text) covering the years 1628, 1652, 1656, 1683, 1687, 1689, 1690, 1691, 1692, 1713, 1722 and 1744 are included under the topic Early Hallatt History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Hallatt 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. Hallatt has been recorded under many different variations, including Hallett, Hallet, Hollett, Hollet, Hollitt and many more.

Early Notables of the Hallatt family

Notables of the family at this time include Joseph Hallett or Halet (1628?-1689), an English ejected minister, "born at Bridport, Dorsetshire, about 1628. He became by his own exertions a good Greek scholar and proficient in Hebrew. In 1652 he was ‘called to the work of the ministry’ at Hinton St. George, Somersetshire, a sequestered living, and was ordained to this charge on 28 Oct. 1652 in St. Thomas's Church, Salisbury, by the ‘classical presbytery of Sarum.’ " 4His son, Joseph...
Another 81 words (6 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Hallatt Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Hallatt family

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 Hallatt or a variant listed above: John Hallett who settled in Barbados in 1680 with his wife and five children and their servants (see above); Andrew Hallett settled in Boston Massachusetts in 1635.


Contemporary Notables of the name Hallatt (post 1700) +

  • May Hallatt (1876-1969), English actress from Scarborough, known for her roles in Separate Tables (1958), Black Narcissus (1947) and Me and My Girl (1939)


  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. Harrison, Henry, Surnames of the United Kingdom: A Concise Etymological Dictionary Baltimore: Geneological Publishing Company, 2013. Print
  4. Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. Print


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