Show ContentsSpital History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The surname Spital is an occupational name for someone who was employed in a lodging house, derived from the Middle English word "spital" which is the same root of the more modern word "hospital."

Early Origins of the Spital family

The surname Spital was first found in Dumbartonshire, where they held a family seat from very ancient times, at Spittal in the parish of Kilmaron. Spittal is also said to be a kind of shelter built along roads in 16th and 17th century Scotland. 1

The variant Spittlehouse was by it's very nature an extension of the root name, but was much more common further south in England. 2

Early History of the Spital family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Spital research. Another 74 words (5 lines of text) covering the years 1365, 1394, 1395, 1423, 1644, 1651, 1653, 1654 and 1689 are included under the topic Early Spital History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Spital Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Spittal, Spittel, Spittle and others.

Early Notables of the Spital family

Notable amongst the family at this time was John Spittlehouse (fl. 1653), English pamphleteer who fought for the parliament against the king at Gainsborough and at the siege of Newark (1644) and remained in the army till after the battle of Worcester (1651.) "When Cromwell dissolved the Long parliament (20 April 1653)...
Another 52 words (4 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Spital Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Spital family

Some of the first settlers of this family name or some of its variants were: John Spittall, who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1852; John Spittle arrived in New England in 1679; Roger Spittle settled in Barbados in 1654.


Contemporary Notables of the name Spital (post 1700) +

  • Nicolas Philippe Xavier Spital, French Brigadier General during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars from 1789 to 1815 3


  1. Black, George F., The Surnames of Scotland Their Origin, Meaning and History. New York: New York Public Library, 1946. Print. (ISBN 0-87104-172-3)
  2. Harrison, Henry, Surnames of the United Kingdom: A Concise Etymological Dictionary Baltimore: Geneological Publishing Company, 2013. Print
  3. Generals Who Served in the French Army during the Period 1789-1815. (Retrieved 2015, November 3) Nicolas Spital. Retrieved from http://www.napoleon-series.org/research/c_frenchgenerals.html


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