VEITCH
The surname Veitch is traditionally associated with the British Isles, particularly Scotland and the United Kingdom, and to a lesser extent with the United States. It has a long documented history and remains a distinctly uncommon surname within its regions of origin.
Its roots lie in the Old English word wic, meaning a dairy farm or settlement, and the name itself is locational, signifying that the original bearer lived near or farmed at a place called Veitch. In medieval times the name was recorded as Vacher, a Latinised occupational term for a dairy man derived from the French vachier and the Italian vaccaro – a cowherd. Early records such as the Promptorium Parvivorum contain the words Vaclerie and Vachery to denote a cow shed or dairy, and Vaccary a cow pasture, all stemming from the Latin vacca for cow.
In later medieval Britain the surname appears in various forms, including Veach, Vacha, Vatcher, Vaitch and Vich, all of which were used to identify people connected with dairy affairs. The earliest known spelling is that of Simon le Vacher found in the Assize Rolls of Yorkshire 1219, a document issued under King John, known as Lackland, reign period 1199–1216.
By the eighteenth century a number of Veitchs had settled in London. For example, Elizabeth Veitch married Roberton Newton on 24 March 1750 at St. John’s, Hackney, and Alexander Veitch married Christian Grieve on 12 June 1758 at St. Clement Danes, Westminster. These records demonstrate that the name was widely documented in the capital region of England during the Tudor period, and the surname survived into the modern age across the Atlantic Ocean.
In more recent decades the name spread further afield, with bearers of the Veitchline now found in Scotland and the United States, as well as in former empire countries of the Commonwealth. The surname remains largely a rare occurrence within its country of origin.
Heraldically, the Veitch family was granted a coat of arms depicting three black cow heads erased on a silver shield. The crest of the arms is a black cow’s head affrontee, and the motto Famam extendimus factis translates as “We extend our fame by our deeds”. That symbolism resonates well with a name that the family would have carried for agricultural purposes, furthest from any other family unit.
Typical given names associated with the Veitch surname
Male
- Alexander
- Andrew
- Colin
- David
- James
- John
- Michael
- Paul
- Robert
- Thomas
- William
Female
- Caroline
- Elizabeth
- Emma
- Helen
- Jennifer
- Karen
- Margaret
- Mary
- Nicola
- Patricia
- Sandra
- Sarah
- Susan
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 Veitch in...
Braille
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Morse
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There are approximately 3,270 people named Veitch in the UK. That makes it roughly the 2,777th most common surname in Britain. Around 50 in a million people in Britain are named Veitch.
Origin: Celtic
Region of origin: British Isles
Country of origin: Scotland
Religion of origin: Christian
Language of origin: Gaelic
Famous people named Veitch
- James Veitch - Theatrical director, writer and producer
- Colin Veitch - Football player and manager (1881 to 1938)
- John Veitch - Scottish poet, philosopher, and historian (1829 to 1894)
- Tommy Veitch - Scottish football player (1949 to 1987)
- Mike Veitch - Scottish darts player
- Bill Veitch - New Zealand politician (1870 to 1961)
- Harry Veitch - Botanist and horticulturist (1840 to 1924)
- John Veitch - Amateur football player (1869 to 1914)
- John Gould Veitch - Horticulturist and traveller (1839 to 1870)
- Anthony Scott Veitch - Australian writer (1914 to 1983)
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.