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Willett History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

Contemporary Notables Historic Events Related Stories Citations

Willett History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
France

Of all the French names to come from Normandy, Willett is one of the most ancient. The name is a result of the original family having lived at a place in Normandy, called Ouilly-le-Basset in the arrondissement and canton of Falaise in Calvados. The name is adapted from the French word "oeil," meaning "eye," which was used metaphorically to refer to the source of a spring or fountain. 1

Early Origins of the Willett family

The surname Willett was first found in Normandy (French: Normandie), the former Duchy of Normandy, where this distinguished family held a family seat in the honor of the seigneurie of Ouilly-le-Basset in the arrondissement and canton of Falaise in Calvados.

Of this family Robert D'Ouilli, the son of Foque D'Aulnay, who was descended from D'Alnay, the first Duke of the Normans of Loire 895-905, joined Duke William of Normandy in the Conquest of England in 1066 A.D. He is referred to by Wace, the chronicler of the Battle of Hastings, as "E cil d'Ouillie," and received the castle of Wallingford in 1067 and possessed sixty-one manors with forty-two habitable houses in the county of Oxford of which he was the Constable.

Wallingford was an ancient Roman castle and Robert D'Ouillie, at the command of William the Conqueror, rebuilt the castle in the Norman style, an impregnable edifice which would play a most significant part in history. He gave much of his estates to Roger D'Ivri, his sworn brother in Arms. This Robert also ceded to Roger his Barony of St. Valery.

René Ouellet, born in 1642, son of François and Elisabeth (née Barre), was one of the first people found in Canada with the name Ouellet. René first married Anne Rivet on 8th March 1666 and he later married Thérèse Mignot on 6th February 1679. Throughout his two marriages René had six sons that carried on the family name of Ouellet. René was buried on 15th January 1722 in Sainte-Anne-de-la-Pocatière, Quebec. 2

Early History of the Willett family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Willett research. Another 46 words (3 lines of text) covering the years 1066 and 1067 are included under the topic Early Willett History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Willett Spelling Variations

Changes of spelling have occurred in most surnames. The earliest explanation is that during the early development of the French language, names were not yet fixed in spelling. Usually a person gave his version of his name, phonetically, to a scribe, a priest, or a recorder. This depended on accent, and local accents frequently changed the spelling of a name. Some variables were adopted by different branches of the family name. Hence, there are some spelling variations of the name Willett, including Oueilly, Oueilly, Ouilly, Ouele, Oueillade, Willet, Willett, Williot, Wille, Willette, Willi, Oulette, Ouellet, Oullett, Wellett, Oullette and many more.

Early Notables of the Willett family

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

Willett Ranking

In the United States, the name Willett is the 2,188^th most popular surname with an estimated 14,922 people with that name. 3

Willett migration to the United States +

French settlers came early to North American, following in the wake of the explorers, and creating New France. Quebec City, founded in 1608 by Samuel de Champlain is said to have been the first American site founded as a permanent settlement, rather than as just a commercial outpost. But emigration was slow, in 1643, 109 years after the first landings by Cartier, there were only about 300 French people in Quebec, and by 1663, when the region was officially made The Royal Colony of New France, by Louis XIV, there still only around 500 settlers. Over 2,000 would arrive during the next decade. Early marriage was desperately encouraged amongst the immigrants. Youths of 18 took fourteen-year-old girls for their wives. The fur trade was developed and attracted immigrants, both noble and commoner from France. By 1675, there were around 7000 French in the colony, and by that same year the Acadian presence in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island had reached 500. In 1755, 10,000 French Acadians refused to take an oath of allegiance to England and were deported to Louisiana. Despite the loss of the Colony to England, the French people flourished in Lower Canada. Among settlers to North America of the Willett surname were

Willett Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Thomas Willett, who landed in Plymouth, Massachusetts in 1632 aboard the ship "Lyon" 4
Ann Willett, aged 23, who arrived in Virginia in 1635 aboard the ship "Globe" 4
Eleanor Willett, who landed in Ipswich, Massachusetts in 1635 4
James Willett, who landed in Virginia in 1636 4
Peter Willett, who landed in Virginia in 1638 4
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Willett Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Henry Willett, who arrived in New York in 1803 4
Samuel Willett, who landed in Charleston, South Carolina in 1821 4
Joshua Willett, who landed in San Francisco, California in 1851 4

Willett migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Willett Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mr. William Willett, English convict who was convicted in Portsmouth, Hampshire, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Captain Cook" on 2nd May 1833, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 5
Mr. William Willett, (b. 1810), aged 30, English ploughman who was convicted in Hereford, Herefordshire, England for life, transported aboard the "Duncan" on 10th December 1840, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 6
Thomas Willett, English convict from Surrey, who was transported aboard the "Agincourt" on July 6, 1844, settling in Van Diemen's Land, Australia 7
Mr. Joseph Willett, (b. 1810), aged 38, English convict who was convicted in London, England for 7 years for perjury, transported aboard the "Bangalore" on 1st January 1850, arriving in Moreton Bay, Queensland, Australia, he died in 1850 aboard the ship 8
Onias Willett, who arrived in Phillip aboard the ship "Samuel Boddington" in 1850 9
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Willett migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

Willett Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Charles Willett, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Berar" in 1865

Contemporary Notables of the name Willett (post 1700) +

Walter Willett MD DrPH. (b. 1945), American physician and nutrition researcher
Private First Class Louis Edward Willett (1945-1967), United States Army soldier who received the Medal of Honor
Lt. Kenneth Martin Willett (1919-1942), American naval reserve officer who was awarded the Navy Cross
Phyllis Willett, American politician, Candidate for Presidential Elector for California, 1972 10
Lewis E. Willett, American Republican politician, Alternate Delegate to Republican National Convention from New York, 1928 10
Joseph L. Willett, American politician, Mayor of Haverhill, Massachusetts, 1953 10
Jason Willett, American Democratic Party politician, Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Arkansas, 2000, 2004, 2008 10
James Polk Willett, American Democratic Party politician, Postmaster at Washington, District of Columbia, 1894-99 10
Francis Willett, American politician, Speaker of the Rhode Island House of Deputies, 1736, 1737, 1739 10
Edward S. Willett, American politician, Member of New York State Assembly from Albany County 1st District, 1848 10
... (Another 13 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Historic Events for the Willett family +

HMS Dorsetshire

Amos Alfred Sidney Willett (d. 1945), British Stoker 1st Class aboard the HMS Dorsetshire when she was struck by air bombers and sunk; he died in the sinking 11

Citations +

Dauzat, Albert, Morlet, Marie-Thérèse, Dictionaire Étymologique des Noms et Prénoms de France. Paris: Librairie Larousse, 1987. Print.
Olivier, Reginald L. Your Ancient Canadian Family Ties. Logan: The Everton Publishers, Inc., P.O. Box 368, 1972. Print
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
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)
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 17th December 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/captain-cook
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 11th August 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/duncan
State Library of Queensland. (Retrieved 2014, November 24) Agincourt voyage to Van Diemen's Land, Australia in 1844 with 226 passengers. Retrieved from http://www.convictrecords.com.au/ships/agincourt/1844
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 11th September 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/australasia
State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) SAMUEL BODDINGTON 1850. Retrieved http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1850SamuelBoddington.htm
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2016, January 12) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
Force Z Survivors HMS Dorsetshire Crew List, (Retrieved 2018, February 13th), https://www.forcez-survivors.org.uk/biographies/listdorsetshirecrew.html