Burdett
An old English surname of uncertain origin, recorded in medieval records and later borne by notable gentry and baronets.
The #8,512 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 79,820 Americans shares it.
Etymology
This surname is found very early in England, including medieval forms such as Burdet and Bordet, but its exact source is not certain. Some 19th-century writers treated it as a French name, and one suggested a French sense like “little bird” or “small bird,” while another connected it with a personal name rather than a place. The strongest historical evidence shows it was present in England by Domesday-era records, but the place-based explanation is weak because the needed territorial prefix is absent in the earliest forms.
History
Burdett appears in medieval English records and was borne by a family settled in Leicestershire, later associated with the baronets of Bramcote. Sources also note other Burdett lines, including the Burdett baronets of Burthwaite, apparently from a different family and bearing different arms. The name continued into modern Britain and the United States, with spellings such as Burdet and Burditt also recorded.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The name appears in Domesday-era records, making it one of the older surnames preserved in English documentation.
From the historical record
“Eng. Surn. i. 119. BURDETT. Plugh Burdet, and Robert Burdet, occur as tenants in Domesd. Tho fonner, Avho Avas ancestor of the baronets of Bramcote, was settled in co. Leicester. The baronets of BurthAvaite seem to be of another family, and bear different arms. The origin of the name is unknown ; that it is not…”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom