Show ContentsPettus History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Early Origins of the Pettus family

The surname Pettus was first found in Norfolk where they held a family seat as Lords of the Manor. After the Battle of Hastings in 1066, William, Duke of Normandy, having prevailed over King Harold, granted most of Britain to his many victorious Barons. It was not uncommon to find a Baron, or a Bishop, with 60 or more Lordships scattered throughout the country. These he gave to his sons, nephews and other junior lines of his family and they became known as under-tenants. They adopted the Norman system of surnames which identified the under-tenant with his holdings so as to distinguish him from the senior stem of the family. After many rebellious wars between his Barons, Duke William, commissioned a census of all England to determine in 1086, settling once and for all, who held which land. He called the census the Domesday Book, [1] indicating that those holders registered would hold the land until the end of time. Hence, conjecturally, the surname is descended from the tenant of the lands of Rackheath, held by Godric, steward of the King who was recorded in the Domesday Book census of 1086.

Early History of the Pettus family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Pettus research. Another 121 words (9 lines of text) covering the years 1510, 1523, 1542, 1566, 1590, 1597, 1600, 1613, 1623, 1639, 1640, 1641, 1654, 1671, 1672, 1687, 1690, 1698, 1731, 1743 and 1772 are included under the topic Early Pettus History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Pettus Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Pettus, Pettous, Petous, Petus, Pettous, Pettes and others.

Early Notables of the Pettus family

Outstanding amongst the family at this time was

  • Thomas Pettus (1523-1597) who was Sheriff (1566) and then Mayor (1590), of the city of Norwich; Sir Thomas Pettus, 1st Baronet (d. 1654) of Rackheath in the County of Norfolk, High Sheriff of Norfolk...
  • Sir John Pettus (1613-1690), was Deputy Governor of the Royal Mines and the third son of Sir Augustine Pettus of Rackheath, Norfolk. He entered the service of Charles I in 1639, and was knighted on 25...

Pettus Ranking

In the United States, the name Pettus is the 5,023rd most popular surname with an estimated 4,974 people with that name. [2]


United States Pettus migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Pettus Settlers in United States in the 17th Century
  • Theodore Pettus, who arrived in Virginia in 1622-1623 [3]
  • Thomas Pettus, who landed in Virginia in 1638 [3]
  • Eliz Pettus, who arrived in Virginia in 1657 [3]
  • Stephen Pettus, who landed in Virginia in 1664 [3]
Pettus Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • Joseph Pettus, who landed in Mobile, Ala in 1858 [3]

Contemporary Notables of the name Pettus (post 1700) +

  • William Thomas "Bill" Pettus (1884-1924), American baseball first baseman in the Cuban League and Negro Leagues
  • Terry Pettus (1904-1984), American newspaper reporter and activist based in Seattle, Washington
  • William Grymes Pettus (1794-1867), American politician
  • Edmund Winston Pettus (1821-1907), American lawyer, soldier, and legislator
  • John J Pettus (1813-1867), American politician, member of the Democratic party, he was Governor of the state of Mississippi
  • Walter Pettus Gewin (1908-1981), American jurist, United States federal judge
  • William Pettus Hobby (1878-1964), publisher of the Houston Post, the 27th governor of the U.S. state of Texas (1917-1921)
  • William Pettus Hobby Jr. (b. 1932), American Democratic Party politician, Lieutenant Governor of Texas, 1973-91; Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Texas, 1980, 1984 [4]
  • William Pettus Hobby (1878-1964), American Democratic Party politician, Lieutenant Governor of Texas, 1914-17; Governor of Texas, 1917-21; Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Texas, 1940 [4]


  1. Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
  2. "What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
  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. The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, October 9) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html


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