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Peto History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables

Contemporary Notables Related Stories Citations

Peto History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

The Peto surname is a habitational name for someone from Poitou. This French region was Peitow in Anglo-Norman French.

Early Origins of the Peto family

The surname Peto was first found in Warwickshire where they held a family seat as Lords of the Manor. The Saxon influence of English history diminished after the Battle of Hastings in 1066. The language of the courts was French for the next three centuries and the Norman ambience prevailed. But Saxon surnames survived and the family name was first referenced in the 13th century when they held estates in that shire at Chesterton.

Early History of the Peto family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Peto research. Another 149 words (11 lines of text) covering the years 1095, 1110, 1167, 1455, 1487, 1510, 1558, 1563, 1599, 1600, 1603, 1611, 1612, 1624 and 1711 are included under the topic Early Peto History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Peto Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Peto, Peyto, Petoe, Peytoe, Petow, Peytow, Petto, Pettoe, Pitto, Pitoe, Pito, Peytoe, Peytot and many more.

Early Notables of the Peto family

Distinguished members of the family include

William Petto (died 1558), English cardinal whose name is variously written Petow, Peytow, and Peytoo. "He was of obscure parentage, simply because his parents are unknown." 1
Samuel Petto (1624-1711), was an English divine from Warwickshire. Henry Petowe (fl 1603) was a poetaster, native of London, and marshal of the Artillery Garden there in 1612 and later years. He signe...

Peto migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Peto Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Thomas Peto, a bonded passenger, who settled in Virginia in 1774

Peto Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Mary Peto, who settled in New York, NY in 1821
Bartolome Peto, who arrived in Guatemala in 1838 2

Peto migration to Australia +

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

Peto Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

William J. Peto, aged 47, a bootmaker, who arrived in South Australia in 1853 aboard the ship "Magdalena" 3

Peto 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:

Peto Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Thomas Peto, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Agnes Muir" in 1872 4

Contemporary Notables of the name Peto (post 1700) +

John Frederick Peto, American trompe l'oeil ("fool the eye") painter
Sir Samuel Morton Peto (1809-1889), English contractor and politician, eldest son of William Peto of Cookham, Berkshire; he was born at Whitmoor House, parish of Woking, Surrey
Harold Ainsworth Peto (1854-1933), English architect and garden designer
Sir Richard Peto (b. 1943), Professor of Medical Statistics and Epidemiology
Sir Basil Edward Peto, British Unionist politician
Sir Christopher Henry Maxwell Peto, British Conservative Party politician
Morton Peto Betts (1847-1914), English athlete, who played both soccer and cricket

Citations +

Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. Print
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)
South Australian Register Friday 26th August 1853. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) Magdalena 1853. Retrieved http://www.theshipslist.com/ships/australia/magdalena1853.shtml
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 17th October 2018). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html