TROTT

Trott is a surname of English provenance. It has been documented on the British Isles, principally in England, and is associated with the English language and Christian faith.

The name derives from the Middle English verb trotten, meaning “to walk or run briskly.” It is usually recorded as a nickname for a person who moved with a quick, lively gait, a characteristic that was notable enough to become a hereditary family name.

The earliest recorded instance of the name appears in the Winton Rolls of Hampshire, in the year 1148, as the name of a man called Robert Trotar. While this early use is essentially a job description, it provides the earliest surviving spelling of the name in English documents.

Further early attestations include Walter Trot in the Pipe Rolls of Surrey dated 1206, during the reign of King John; William Le Trot, a Sussex resident recorded in 1327; and Thomas Troht of Somerset, also in 1327. A later example is Jeffry Trote, bailiff of Yarmouth, Norfolk, in 1340. These records indicate that the name had become established across several counties in medieval England.

In the seventeenth century, a woman named Jane Trott was solemnised at St. Michaels Church, Cornhill on 1 july 1661, illustrating the persistence of the name into the early modern period. The same surname appears in the records of the New World, with a mention of “Mr. Perient Trott” in the governance documents of the Somers Islands (now the West Indies) dated 23 august 1673, signalling one of the earliest entries of the name in the American colonies.

The same surname is also documented as a descendant of the Norman invasion after 1066, being derived from Old French trotier, a descriptive nickname for a messenger. Prior to the Norman period, an Old English forms of the name—rooted in trothe from the pre‑10th century—denotes a person noted for loyalty and faithfulness.

In 1574, during the reign of Elizabeth I (1558‑1603), the coat of arms awarded to a member of the Trott family is recorded as a paly of gold and red, with a black bear rampant upon a silver chief. This heraldic device is a contemporary illustration of the family's status and heritage.

The surname is closely related to variants such as Trotter and Trotman, reflecting a common linguistic ancestry that evolved from the same medieval occupational and descriptive roots.

Typical given names associated with the Trott surname

Male

• Andrew
• Christopher
• David
• James
• John
• Michael
• Nicholas
• Paul
• Peter
• Robert
• Stephen

Female

• Elizabeth
• Gillian
• Helen
• Jacqueline
• Jane
• Jennifer
• Julie
• Lisa
• Margaret
• Nicola
• Patricia
• Sandra
• Sarah
• Susan
• Wendy

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 Trott in...

Braille

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Morse

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Semaphore

Origin: English

Region of origin: British Isles

Country of origin: England

Religion of origin: Christian

Language of origin: English

Famous people named Trott

• Jonathan Trott - Cricket player
• Nathan Trott - Football player
• Judi Trott - Actress
• Emma Trott - Racing cyclist
• Robin Trott - Football player and manager
• Nicholas Trott - Colonial magistrate and chief justice in South Carolina; tried pirate Stede Bonnet in 1718. (1663 to 1740)
• Frank Trott - Welsh rugby union football player (1915 to 1987)
• Ben Trott - Cricketer
• Roger Trott - Bermudian cricketer
• Rodney Trott - Bermudian cricketer
• Winston Trott - Bermudian cricketer

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.

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