Suttar History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Scotland
England

Etymology of Suttar

What does the name Suttar mean?

An ancient Scottish people known as the Picts were the forefathers of the Suttar family. Suttar is a name for a cobbler. The name is derived from the Old English word soutere, which in turn comes from the Old Norse word sutare, which means shoemaker or cobbler. 1 2

We include this excerpt from a 16th century play:

"Of that surname I neid nocht be aschomit

For I con mak schone, butekins and buittis:

Gif me the coppie of the king's cuittis,

And ye sail se, richt sune, quhat I can do."

Sir David Lindsay, Ane Satyre of the Thrie Esteaites, June 1552.

Roughly translated into more modern English:

"Of that surname I need not be ashamed, for I can make schone, butekins, and buittis" (boots) "give me a copy of the king's cuittis and ye shall see, right soon, what I can do."

Early Origins of the Suttar family

The surname Suttar was first found in Angus (Gaelic: Aonghas), part of the Tayside region of northeastern Scotland, and present day Council Area of Angus, formerly known as Forfar or Forfarshire.

The first on record was Roger Sutor who held land in Dumfries, a. 1214, and later, Kolin, son of Anegus the Souter, was present at the pleas held at Dull in Angus in 1264. Bernard called Sutor had a charter of a house in the tenement of Drumelzier, c. 1300-1320. Fynlai sutor was prepositus of Stirling, 1327, and in 1330 Symon sutor was prepositus of the burgh of Culan. 3

Further south in England, the Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 recorded John le Suter, Cambridgeshire; and William le Sutere, Cambridgeshire. The Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379 elude to the occupational nature of the name: Johannes de Morton, souter; Johannes Schether, souter; Johannes Sowter, sutor; and Adam Souterson, souiert. 4

Early History of the Suttar family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Suttar research. Another 369 words (26 lines of text) covering the years 1110, 1327, 1375, 1402, 1422, 1438, 1457, 1460, 1464, 1511, 1527, 1586, 1633, 1660 and 1663 are included under the topic Early Suttar History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Suttar Spelling Variations

Prior to the invention of the printing press in the last hundred years, documents were basically unique. Names were written according to sound, and often appeared differently each time they were recorded. Spelling variations of the name Suttar include Souter, Suter, Sutar, Souttar, Soutar, Sutter, Shuter and many more.

Early Notables of the Suttar family

More information is included under the topic Early Suttar Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Suttar migration to the United States +

The freedom of the North American colonies was enticing, and many Scots left to make the great crossing. It was a long and hard journey, but its reward was a place where there was more land than people and tolerance was far easier to come by. Many of these people came together to fight for a new nation in the American War of Independence, while others remained loyal to the old order as United Empire Loyalists. The ancestors of Scots in North America have recovered much of this heritage in the 20th century through Clan societies and other such organizations. A search of immigration and passenger lists revealed many important and early immigrants to North America bearing the name of Suttar:

Suttar Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

George Suttar, who arrived in Allegany (Allegheny) County, Pennsylvania in 1853 5
Urs Suttar, who landed in Allegany (Allegheny) County, Pennsylvania in 1853 5

Sources +

Harrison, Henry, Surnames of the United Kingdom: A Concise Etymological Dictionary Baltimore: Geneological Publishing Company, 2013. Print
Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
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)
Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
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)