Show ContentsTreat History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Etymology of Treat

What does the name Treat mean?

Treat is a name of ancient Norman origin. It arrived in England with the Norman Conquest of 1066. The Treat family lived in Yorkshire, at Treeton.

Early Origins of the Treat family

The surname Treat was first found in Yorkshire where Richard of Treeton (Turton) held that village consisting of a church and a mill from the Count of Mortain at the time of the taking of the Domesday Book.

Early History of the Treat family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Treat research. Another 71 words (5 lines of text) covering the years 1584, 1603, 1618, 1622, 1628, 1649, 1662, 1669, 1683, 1698 and 1710 are included under the topic Early Treat History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Treat Spelling Variations

Endless spelling variations are a prevailing characteristic of Norman surnames. Old and Middle English lacked any definite spelling rules, and the introduction of Norman French added an unfamiliar ingredient to the English linguistic stew. French and Latin, the languages of the court, also influenced spellings. Finally, Medieval scribes generally spelled words according to how they sounded, so one person was often referred to by different spellings in different documents. The name has been spelled Turton, Treeton, Treton and others.

Early Notables of the Treat family

Outstanding amongst the family at this time was

  • Sir John Turton, Judge of the King's Bench who opposed King Charles I; Richard Treat (or Trott) (1584-1669), an early settler in New England and a patentee of the Royal Charter of Connecticut, 1662; a...

Treat Ranking

In the United States, the name Treat is the 4,953rd most popular surname with an estimated 4,974 people with that name. 1


Treat migration to the United States +

To escape the political and religious persecution within England at the time, many English families left for the various British colonies abroad. The voyage was extremely difficult, though, and the cramped, dank ships caused many to arrive in the New World diseased and starving. But for those who made it, the trip was most often worth it. Many of the families who arrived went on to make valuable contributions to the emerging nations of Canada and the United States. An inquiry into the early roots of North American families reveals a number of immigrants bearing the name Treat or a variant listed above:

Treat Settlers in United States in the 17th Century
  • Richard Treat, who landed in Watertown, Massachusetts in 1635 2
  • Robert Treat, who arrived in New Haven, Connecticut in 1659 2
  • Samuel Treat, who landed in New England in 1669 2

Contemporary Notables of the name Treat (post 1700) +

  • John Whittier Treat, American Professor of East Asian Languages and Literature at Yale University
  • Casey Treat (b. 1955), American pastor, teleevanglist, author and motivational speaker
  • Charles Herbert "Herb" Treat (1900-1947), American football player
  • Lawrence Treat (1903-1998), American mystery writer
  • Samuel H. Treat (1815-1902), United States federal judge
  • Roger Treat (1906-1969), American sportswriter and author
  • Richard Treat (1584-1669), early American New England settler and a Patentee of the Royal Charter of Connecticut
  • Robert Treat (1622-1710), American colonial leader, militia officer and governor of Connecticut
  • Robert Treat Paine (1731-1814), American signer of Declaration of Independence
  • John Treat Irving (1778-1838), American politician, Member of New York State Assembly from New York County, 1816-17, 1818-20; Common Pleas Court Judge in New York, 1821-38 3


  1. "What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
  2. 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)
  3. The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, October 28) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html


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