Batt
An English surname usually tracing back to Batt, a short form of Bartholomew.
The #9,026 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 85,242 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Batt is generally treated as a nickname or shortened form of Bartholomew, especially the familiar medieval pet form Batt or Bat. Bartholomew itself comes through Greek and Aramaic from a name meaning roughly “son of Talmai” or “son of the furrowed one,” though the surname uses only the shortened English form. In some surname traditions, Batt can also function as the base for patronymic forms such as Batts or Batson.
History
English surname dictionaries from the 19th century group Batt with a wider family of names derived from Bartholomew, including Batts, Batson, Bates, and Batty. The name appears in records across England and later in the United States, where it remains relatively uncommon. Because Batt is short and can overlap with other surnames or nicknames, some individual family lines may have multiple possible origins.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Lower explicitly lists Batt among the nicknames descended from Bartholomew, showing how a long saint’s name could shrink into a very compact surname.
From the historical record
“BATSON. See Barlholomew. BATT. BxVTTS. BATTSON. See Bartholomew. BAY 21 BE A”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom