Tratt History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

Etymology of Tratt

What does the name Tratt mean?

This surname is derived from the name of an ancestor as in 'the son of Troit' or Trote or Troyt. The nursery rhyme "Dame Trot and her Cat" is English with various versions in print over the years. "The name is frequently found in the Exchequer Lay Subsidies, Somerset." 1

Other sources claims the name is derived from the Anglo-Saxon word Trot, meaning "beloved, dear, friend" 2 while another claims the name denotes "descendant of Trott (defiance)" 3

Early Origins of the Tratt family

The surname Tratt was first found in Surrey where Walter and Robert Trot were recorded in the Pipe Rolls for 1206 and later in the Curia Regis Rolls for Berkshire. William le Trot was listed in the Subsidy Rolls for Sussex in 1327. 4

The Pipe Rolls, or Sheriff's Annual Accounts of the Counties of Cumberland, Westmorland and Durham during the reigns of Henry II, Richard I and John list Robert filius Trote, 1165 and Richard filius Truite, 1179. 1

In Somerset, early records there show Nicholas Truhyt, Thomas Troht, Robert Trote, Thomas Trut and Robert Tryut. All records were entered 1 Edward III (during the first year of Edward III's reign.) 5 Jefthe French Trote was bailiff of Yarmouth, Norfolk in 1340. 6

"The Trotts are now established in the neighbouring districts of Honiton and Cullompton [,Devon]. John Trott, one of the martyrs of Monmouth's rebellion in 1685, died on the scaffold at Bridgewater." 7

Early History of the Tratt family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Tratt research. Another 107 words (8 lines of text) covering the years 1327, 1455, 1483, 1487, 1515, 1524 and 1619 are included under the topic Early Tratt History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Tratt Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Trott, Trot, Troat, Troth, Troath, Trotman and others.

Early Notables of the Tratt family

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

Tratt migration to West Indies +

The British first settled the British West Indies around 1604. They made many attempts but failed in some to establish settlements on the Islands including Saint Lucia and Grenada. By 1627 they had managed to establish settlements on St. Kitts (St. Christopher) and Barbados, but by 1641 the Spanish had moved in and destroyed some of these including those at Providence Island. The British continued to expand the settlements including setting the First Federation in the British West Indies by 1674; some of the islands include Barbados, Bermuda, Cayman Island, Turks and Caicos, Jamaica and Belize then known as British Honduras. By the 1960's many of the islands became independent after the West Indies Federation which existed from 1958 to 1962 failed due to internal political conflicts. After this a number of Eastern Caribbean islands formed a free association. 8

Tratt Settlers in West Indies in the 17th Century

Robert Tratt, aged 21, who arrived in Barbados in 1635 9
Mr. Robert Tratt, (b. 1614), aged 21, British settler travelling from London, England aboard the ship "Anne and Elizabeth" arriving in Barbados in 1635 10

Contemporary Notables of the name Tratt (post 1700) +

Eduard Tratt, German fighter pilot and flying ace in the Luftwaffe, during World War II, credited with 38 aerial victories, awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross

Sources +

Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
Harrison, Henry, Surnames of the United Kingdom: A Concise Etymological Dictionary Baltimore: Geneological Publishing Company, 2013. Print
Smith, Eldson Coles, New Dictionary of American Family Names New York: Harper & Row, 1956. Print
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
Dickinson, F.H., Kirby's Quest for Somerset of 16th of Edward the 3rd London: Harrison and Sons, Printers in Ordinary to Her Majesty, St, Martin's Lane, 1889. Print.
Rye, Walter, A History of Norfolk. London: Elliot Stock, 62, Paternoster Row, 1885. Print
Guppy, Henry Brougham, Homes of Family Names in Great Britain. 1890. Print.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies
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)
Pilgrim Ship Lists Early 1600's. Retrieved 23rd September 2021 from https://www.packrat-pro.com/ships/shiplist.htm