Heathcote is a
surname
In many societies, a surname, family name, or last name is the mostly hereditary portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family. It is typically combined with a given name to form the full name of a person, although several give ...
rooted in English topography which literally means "Heath Cottage". The location in Derbyshire was first 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 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...
of 1086 as "Hedcote", and as "Hethcote" in 1244. The location in Warwickshire appears is written "Hethcot" in the 1196 Feet of Fines for the county. The
Anglo-Saxon
The Anglo-Saxons, in some contexts simply called Saxons or the English, were a Cultural identity, cultural group who spoke Old English and inhabited much of what is now England and south-eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. They traced t ...
surname "Heathcote" originates from a
hamlet
''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...
that stands high on the barren hills above
Dovedale and
Hartington. The place-name refers to a cottage on a heath or wasteland where was found an outlying farm or
grange of Grendon Abbey. The said Grendon Abbey was founded in 1133. Some of the earliest references to the grange at Heathcote are found in records of the 1300s and 15th century.
[''Family Names and Family History'', David Hey, 2000, Digitized by Google]
Some variations of the name are Heathcoat and
Heathcott. Notable people with the surname include:
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Alastair Heathcote (b. 1977), British rower
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Alfred Spencer Heathcote (1832–1912), English recipient of the Victoria Cross
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Andy Heathcote (b. 1964), Scottish filmmaker
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Bella Heathcote (b. 1987), Australian actress
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Caleb Heathcote (1666–1721), Mayor of New York City, brother of Sir Gilbert Heathcote
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Charles Heathcote (1850–1938), British architect
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Cliff Heathcote (1898–1939), American baseball player
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Dorothy Heathcote (1926–2011), British drama educator
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Edwin Heathcote (b. 1968), British architect
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Gilbert Heathcote (disambiguation), several people
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Henry Heathcote (1777–1851), Royal Navy officer
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Joe Heathcote (1878–unknown), English footballer
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John Heathcote (disambiguation), several people
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Jud Heathcote (1927–2017), American college basketball coach
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Michael Heathcote (b. 1965), English footballer
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Norman Heathcote, British author, watercolourist and photographer
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Paul Heathcote, British restaurateur
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Richard Edensor Heathcote (1780–1850), British politician
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Robert Heathcote (archer) (1847–1918), British archer
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Sophie Heathcote (1972–2006), Australian actress
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Thomas Heathcote (1917–1986), British actor
See also
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Heathcote baronets
There have been two baronetcies created for people with the surname Heathcote, both in the Baronetage of Great Britain and both created in 1733. The holders of the first creation were later elevated to the peerage as Baron Aveland and Earl of Anca ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Heathcote (Surname)