Butt is a German and an English surname whose origins lie in the South West peninsula region of

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

Etymology

The surname Butt or Butts is said to be derived from the French word "but" which is a noun meaning "target". The English name is derived from the

Middle English Middle English (abbreviated to ME) is a form of the English language that was spoken after the Norman conquest of 1066, until the late 15th century. The English language underwent distinct variations and developments following the Old English ...

word "but", a noun meaning a mark for archery, a target or goal, or someone's rear end. The name may derive from ''butt'', a strip of ploughland shorter than the average length of one

furlong A furlong is a measure of distance in imperial units and United States customary units equal to one eighth of a mile, equivalent to 660 feet, 220 yards, 40 rods, 10 chains or approximately 201 metres. It is now mostly confined to use in hor ...

.White, William (1878). ''Notes and queries, Volume 58''. Oxford University Press

History

Anglo-Norman names are characterised by a multitude of spelling variations. When the

Normans The Normans ( Norman: ''Normaunds''; french: Normands; la, Nortmanni/Normanni) were a population arising in the medieval Duchy of Normandy from the intermingling between Norse Viking settlers and indigenous West Franks and Gallo-Romans. ...

became the ruling people of England in the 11th century, they introduced a new language into a society where the main languages of Old and later Middle English had no definite spelling rules. These languages were more often spoken than written, so they blended freely with one another. Contributing to this mixing of tongues was the fact that medieval scribes spelled words according to sound, ensuring that a person's name would appear differently in nearly every document in which it was recorded. The name has been spelled Butt, But, Butte and others.

England

The surname can also be found in England where it is again of patronymic origin, meaning "son of Butt". First found in

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a historic county in southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the ceremonial county of Greater London, with small sections in neighbour ...

where they were anciently seated, and were granted lands by

William the Conqueror William I; ang, WillelmI (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), usually known as William the Conqueror and sometimes William the Bastard, was the first House of Normandy, Norman List of English monarchs#House of Norman ...

, and recorded in the

Domesday Book Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manus ...

compiled in 1086. An early reference to this surname in 1200 England, William de Butte is listed in

Oseney Osney or Osney Island (; an earlier spelling of the name is ''Oseney'') is a riverside community in the west of the city of Oxford, England. In modern times the name is applied to a community also known as Osney Town astride Botley Road, just we ...

. From the archery-related meaning, the surname Butt in England was originally used to describe somebody who either lived near

archery butts A butt is an archery shooting field, with mounds of earth used for the targets. The name originally referred to the targets themselves, but over time came to mean the platforms that held the targets as well. For instance '' Othello,'' V, ii, 267 ...

, or someone who was actually an archer. The name has been particularly popular in

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devo ...

and

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...

since the 17th century, with a number of variants from the same origin including Butts, and two names meaning "Son of Butt": Butson and Butting.

Migration to Canada

For many English families, the political and religious disarray that plagued their homeland made the frontiers of the

New World The term ''New World'' is often used to mean the majority of Earth's Western Hemisphere, specifically the Americas."America." ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'' (). McArthur, Tom, ed., 1992. New York: Oxford University Press, p. ...

an attractive prospect. Thousands migrated, aboard cramped disease-ridden ships. They arrived sick, poor and hungry, but were welcomed in many cases with far greater opportunity than at home in England. Many of these hardy settlers went on to make important contributions to the emerging nations in which they landed. Among early immigrants bearing the name Butt or a variant listed above were, Roger Butt who settled in Carbonear, Newfoundland, in 1675, John Butt who settled in Conception Bay, Newfoundland, in 1706 and Joseph Butt settled in Crocker's Cove, Newfoundland, in the same year.

France

The Butt family is claimed to be originally from the village named But in

Normandy Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...

, France and is patronymic in origin.

Germany

An early reference to a related surname dates back to 1266 where Conrad Dictus Butze is registered in

Freiburg Freiburg im Breisgau (; abbreviated as Freiburg i. Br. or Freiburg i. B.; Low Alemannic: ''Friburg im Brisgau''), commonly referred to as Freiburg, is an independent city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. With a population of about 230,000 (as o ...

, Germany.Friederichs, Heinz Friedrich (1978). ''Walther von der Vogelweide.'' Degener, p. 71.

Notable people with the surname Butt

Alfred Butt Sir Alfred Butt, 1st Baronet (20 March 1878 – 8 December 1962) was a British theatre impresario, Conservative politician and racehorse owner and breeder. During a fourteen-year tenure as manager of London's Palace Theatre, beginning in 1904, ...

, British theatre entrepreneur, Conservative politician and racehorse owner *Major Archibald Butt, military aide to U.S. presidents

Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. ( ; October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26t ...

and

William Howard Taft William Howard Taft (September 15, 1857March 8, 1930) was the 27th president of the United States (1909–1913) and the tenth chief justice of the United States (1921–1930), the only person to have held both offices. Taft was elected pr ...

* Anthony Butt, New Zealand jockey * Brent Butt, Canadian stand-up comedian, actor and writer *

Charles Butt Charles Clarence Butt (born February 3, 1938) is an American heir and billionaire. He inherited his family's San Antonio–based H-E-B supermarket chain in 1971. The privately held company has more than 300 stores and $31 billion in sales, acc ...

, American grocer, son of Howard Butt *

Clara Butt Dame Clara Ellen Butt, (1 February 1872 – 23 January 1936) was an English contralto and one of the most popular singers from the 1890s through to the 1920s. She had an exceptionally fine contralto voice and an agile singing technique, and imp ...

, English contralto * Cyrus M. Butt, American politician * David Butt Phillip, British operatic tenor *

Dudley Butt Dudley Butt MLC (born 1946) was a Member of the Legislative Council and Tynwald in the Isle of Man. He is a former Detective Chief Inspector of the Isle of Man Constabulary. Early life and education Dudley Michael William Butt is the son of R ...

, Manx politician *

Gavin Butt Gavin Butt (born 1967) is a writer and academic based in Brighton, UK Overview Gavin Butt is a transdisciplinary scholar working across the areas of performance studies, queer studies, visual culture, and popular music. He received his PhD from ...

, British art historian * Ghulam Mohammad Baksh Butt, Pakistani wrestler known as "The Great Gama" * Gizz Butt, British musician * Hans-Jörg Butt, German goalkeeper *

Harry Butt Henry Rigden Butt (27 December 1865 – 21 December 1928) was an English cricketer who played first-class cricket for Sussex County Cricket Club and the Marylebone Cricket Club between 1890 and 1912. Butt also played three Test matches for ...

, English cricketer * Howard Edward Butt Sr., American founder of H-E-B grocery chain * Hugh Butt, American physician *

Isaac Butt Isaac Butt (6 September 1813 – 5 May 1879) was an Irish barrister, editor, politician, Member of Parliament in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, economist and the founder and first leader of a number of Irish nationalist part ...

, an

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

leader of the

Home Rule League The Home Rule League (1873–1882), sometimes called the Home Rule Party, was an Irish political party which campaigned for home rule for Ireland within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, until it was replaced by the Irish Parliam ...

* Jake Butt, an American football tight end for the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquar ...

* John Butt (sport shooter), English sports shooter * Len Butt (footballer born 1893), English footballer with Southampton and Bournemouth * Len Butt (footballer born 1910), English footballer with Huddersfield Town and Blackburn Rovers *

Maggie Butt Maggie Butt is a British poet and novelist. Background Maggie Butt is an ex-journalist and BBC TV producer turned poet and novelist. Her latest poetry collection, ''everlove'', was published in April 2021 by ''The London Magazine''. Her nove ...

, British poet * Martha Haines Butt (1833–1871), American author, suffragist * Miriam Butt, German linguist *

Nicky Butt Nicholas Butt (born 21 January 1975) is an English football coach and former player who was most recently the head of first-team development at Manchester United. He is also a co-owner and chief executive officer of Salford City. He played prof ...

, English footballer *

Osman Khalid Butt Osman Khalid Butt ( ur, ; born 9 February 1986) is a Pakistani film, television and theatre actor, writer and choreographer. He is best known for his role as Wali Sohaib Khan in Diyar-E-Dil , Faaz Ibrahim in Chupke Chupke and Malik Shahzain in ...

, Pakistani actor * Peter Butt, Australian filmmaker *

Ray Butt Raymond William Butt (25 June 1935 – 12 July 2013) was a British television producer and director. He worked on several sitcoms for BBC television and became best known for '' Only Fools and Horses''. Early life Butt grew up in London as an on ...

, British film and television producer * Raymond Butt, British schoolteacher *

Salman Butt Salman Butt (, born 7 October 1984) is a former Pakistani cricketer and captain who played for Pakistan national cricket team between 2003 and 2010, before getting banned for five years for his involvement in 2010 spot-fixing scandal. He had ...

, Pakistani cricketer *

Simon Butt Simon Butt (born April 1958) is a British diplomat, the former British Ambassador to Lithuania. Postings From 1982 to 1984 Butt served as a Political officer in the British Embassy in Moscow, this was followed by two years assigned to Burma. Fr ...

, British diplomat *

Sonya Butt Sonya Esmée Florence Butt (14 May 1924 – 21 December 2014), also known as Sonia d'Artois, code named ''Blanche,'' was an agent of the clandestine Special Operations Executive during the Second World War. SOE agents allied themselves with gro ...

, a female S.O.E. agent during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

Tameka Butt Tameka Yallop ( Butt; born 16 June 1991) is an Australian professional soccer midfielder who plays for Brann in the Norwegian Toppserien. She previously played for the Boston Breakers in the WPSL Elite, German Frauen-Bundesliga club 1. FFC F ...

, Australian association footballer * Tom Butt, American politician in California * Wilfrid Butt, British endocrinologist * William Butt, American politician in Georgia

References

{{Surname Surnames