PUTT
Putt is a surname of English origin that is recorded in the British Isles as having both occupational and topographical roots. It is first associated with the Middle English verb putten, meaning “to put”, and was likely applied to someone who performed the act of placing or arranging objects, such as a putter or a clerk who put items in their proper place.
The same name can also be understood through its Old English derivation from pytt, a pre‑7th‑century word for “pit” or “hollow”. In this sense Putt was a locational surname, given to a person who lived near a natural depression, a man‑made pit, or a small valley. Such topographical names were common in the Middle Ages, because natural and artificial features were easily recognisable and served as distinguishing markers within small communities.
Historical documents attest to the surname in the late 12th and early 13th centuries. The Pipe Rolls of Sussex record the spelling Geruase de la Puette in 1182, during the reign of Henry I. Other early forms include Thomas de la Pitte in the 1225 Assize Court Rolls of Somerset, Bitheputte in Somersetshire in 1277, atte Pitte in Surrey in 1294, and the excerpt in the Pyt from Worcestershire around 1300.
In contemporary terms the surname is most frequently found in the English counties of Hampshire and Sussex, where it is believed to have originated from place names such as Perry or Pett. Its spread to other regions has been facilitated by migrations since the 16th and 17th centuries, when people from these counties moved to further parts of England, bringing the name with them. Outside of Britain, the surname appears, in lower numbers, in Germany, Austria, the Netherlands and to a very limited extent the United States.
Variant spellings of the name are numerous and attest to phonetic and dialectical changes over time. These include Put, Putte, Putman, Puttman, Pott, Potts, Pett and Pettman. The insertion or dropping of final consonants, the use of patronymic endings such as ‑man, and the interchange of similar consonants across dialects account for this diversity.
Overall, the Putt surname exemplifies how a simple occupational or locational designation can evolve into a set of related family names, through centuries of linguistic shifting and migration across the British Isles and beyond. Its historical attestations and linguistic roots provide a clear picture of how early English society used the landscape and professions to shape personal identity.
Typical given names associated with the Putt surname
Male
- Andrew
- Anthony
- Charles
- Christopher
- David
- John
- Michael
- Robert
- Simon
- Steven
- Thomas
Female
- Esther
- Helen
- Joanne
- Kathryn
- Louise
- Margaret
- Mary
- Patricia
- Rebecca
- Sarah
- Sharon
- Susan
- Victoria
Similar and related surnames
Related and similar names are generated algorithmically based on the spelling, and may not necessarily share an etymology.
How to communicate the surname Putt in...
Braille
⠏⠥⠞⠞
Morse
.--...---
Semaphore
There are approximately 1,225 people named Putt in the UK. That makes it roughly the 6,323rd most common surname in Britain. Around 19 in a million people in Britain are named Putt.
Origin: English
Region of origin: British Isles
Country of origin: England
Religion of origin: Christian
Language of origin: English
Famous people named Putt
- Gorley Putt - Politician (1913 to 1995)
Names and descriptions courtesy of Wikipedia, and may contain errors. This is not intended to be an exhaustive list of every famous person with this name.