The earliest members of the GARNETT (originally spelled GERNET) family appeared in the south-eastern counties of England in the aftermath of the Norman Conquest of 1066. Over time, people bearing the Gernet/Garnet/Garnett surname became concentrated in the northern English counties of Lancashire, Westmorland, Cheshire and Yorkshire. Many Garnett family members also migrated from Britain to North America, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa over the centuries.