BUTTER
Butter is a surname of English origin, traditionally classed as an occupational name. The name is derived from the Middle‑English word butere, meaning butter, and it was originally applied to individuals connected with the manufacture or sale of butter – a butter‑maker, a dairy farmer, or a seller of butter in medieval England.
Historical records show that the surname appears in the early twelfth century. The first known spelling is that of William Butere, dated to 1130 in the Pipe Rolls of Dorsetshire during the reign of King Henry I. An early example of the nickname form arises in Yorkshire, where Hennry Butor is recorded in the Pipe Rolls of 1169. The nickname is thought to be derived from botor and Old French butor, meaning bittern, and was given to a person whose voice resembled the bird’s call.
The surname continued to be recorded in a variety of early documents: William le Buter appears in the Assize Rolls of Somerset in 1243, and Geoffrey Butter is documented in the Subsidy Rolls of Worcestershire in 1327. By the late medieval period the spelling had stabilised, yet spelling variations such as Botter persisted in some localities.
In England the name has traditionally been associated with northern Yorkshire, where early members of the family held estates in areas such as Butterthwait near Leeming in the North Riding. Censuses in the late nineteenth century recorded nearly 5,000 individuals bearing the surname in Britain, with the highest concentrations in West Yorkshire, Lancashire, and North Yorkshire.
In the United States the surname Butter is listed among the most common surnames in the 2000 census. Over 11,500 persons were recorded with the name, and the United States Census Bureau notes that the highest concentrations are found in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Indiana. The name was introduced to America by immigrants in the seventeenth century, initially arriving in Pennsylvania before moving into Virginia.
The surname has appeared in various forms across Europe. In Scotland it is sometimes spelt as Botter, Butter, Buttere, Buttar, and Butters; in France as Beutret or Beutere; in Germany as Buthier, Butterer, and Putter; in Italy as Butare, Buttare, and Buttari. Related surnames that share a common etymological origin include Batter, Butler, Beadle, Bidle, Bidwell, Byram, Bywater, Buttner, Buytner, Butzner, Butziger, Butzele, Buteler, and Bute.
Typical given names associated with the Butter surname
Male
- Andrew
- Charles
- Christopher
- David
- Ian
- James
- John
- Nigel
- Norman
- Paul
- Peter
- Richard
- Robert
- Stephen
Female
- Catherine
- Claire
- Elizabeth
- Jean
- Julie
- Margaret
- Mary
- Nicola
- Pamela
- Sally
- Sarah
- Susan
- Tracy
- Wendy
Similar and related surnames
- Booter
- Bootier
- Boughter
- Boutari
- Bouter
- Boutier
- Boutter
- Bouttier
- Bowter
- Butare
- Buter
- Butera
- Buters
- Butery
- Butete
- Buther
- Butier
- Butor
- Butra
- Butta
- Buttar
- Buttars
- Buttary
- Butte
- Buttel
- Butterall
- Butterby
- Butteree
- Butterell
- Butterer
- Butteress
- Butterey
- Butterick
- Butterill
- Butteris
- Butteriss
- Butterley
- Butterly
- Butters
- Butterway
- Buttery
- Buttle
- Buttler
- Buttmer
- Buttner
- Buttor
- Buttray
- Buttree
- Buturo
Related and similar names are generated algorithmically based on the spelling, and may not necessarily share an etymology.
How to communicate the surname Butter in...
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Morse
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There are approximately 502 people named Butter in the UK. That makes it one of Britain's least common surnames. Only around eight in a million people in Britain are named Butter.
Surname type: Occupational name
Origin: English
Region of origin: British Isles
Country of origin: England
Religion of origin: Christian
Language of origin: English
