Spratley History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The surname Spratley was first found in Dorset, where the name appeared in the Domesday Book of 1086 as Sprott, which was later changed to Spratt. The family branched into Devon and they also branched to Wareham in Dorset.

One source notes that the name could have been derived from "sprot (twig or small branch); one thought to possess some characteristic of a sprat (fish); dweller at the sign of the sprat. " 1

The Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 had various entries for the name in various counties: Henry Sprot, Cambridgeshire; Richard Sprot, Oxfordshire; and Simon Sprot in Bedfordshire. John Sprot was listed in Somerset, 1 Edward III (during the first year of King Edward III's reign. 2

Agnes Sproate was listed in the Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379 and later John Sprott de Surlingham, Norfolk was listed in the History of Norfolk. 3

Much further to the north in Scotland, the name there was "perhaps from Sprot, an Old English personal name, but more likely to be of Scandinavian origin. The tradition of those bearing this name in Scotland is that their ancestors were Saxons who came into Scotland after the Norman Conquest of England. The first recorded of the name in Scotland appears to be Hugh Sprot of Ur who witnessed a charter by Eustace Baliol granting the church and lands of Hur (Urr) in 1262 to the monks of Holyrood. " 4

"Jack Sprat" (or "Jack Spratt") is an English language nursery rhyme that was first published in 1639 in John Clarke's collection of sayings. The rhyme was then later reprinted in Mother Goose's Melody around 1765.