About us
The surname Peet and close variants (Peat, Peate) can be found in the UK, USA, Australia, New Zealand and many other countries.
In the UK, the surname is particularly associated with the counties of Derbyshire (mainly Peat spelling), Lancashire (mainly Peet), Nottinghamshire and Yorkshire as well as a number of other counties.
Based on documentary evidence, several possible family lines can be identified. In Derbyshire, it appears that the Peet surname first developed in neighbouring Staffordshire, then spread east into Derbyshire, Leicestershire and other counties, and west into Shropshire as well as to Montgomeryshire in Wales, where the name Peate is still found. Many people in the USA bearing the Peet surname, are descended from John Peet (c.1597-1684) of Stratford, Connecticut. He came from the parish of Duffield in Derbyshire. The earliest record of a Peet-related name in Staffordshire is from 1274, when John de Pete held about 30 acres of land in Denston. Denston was a small community near the border with Derbyshire, only some 20 miles from Duffield.
Another main source of the Peet surname was Lancashire. The documentary evidence suggests that the Peet surname in Lancashire developed later (17th century) and independently, although earlier migration from elsewhere into the county is also possible. There is an early record of Thomas Peet alias Pink, who married Emblin Gore in Ormskirk in 1657. It is possible to construct an outline family tree which in principle can account for all of the main early branches of the Peet family in Lancashire, beginning with this couple. Whether in practice this can explain all of the early Peet families, is open to debate. Many other Peet families migrated into Lancashire during the Industrial Revolution.
Other places with records of Peet and related surnames, found prior to the 15th century and possibly of independent origin, include Essex and London, and Cambridgeshire. These lines did not develop to a significant degree in those local areas into modern times, but they are important historically because of migration to other places.
Other English counties where the Peet or Peat surname is now found, include Yorkshire and Nottinghamshire. Whether the surname developed independently there, or whether ther was migration from neighbouring counties, is unclear. A small group with the surname 'Pete', including Robert Pete and his wife Alice, was recorded near Rotherham in South Yorkshire in 1378/9.
It is clear that there are many unanswered questions about the early origins and possible common ancestry for the various Peet/Peat family lines. This project aims to clarify that situation.
In the UK, the surname is particularly associated with the counties of Derbyshire (mainly Peat spelling), Lancashire (mainly Peet), Nottinghamshire and Yorkshire as well as a number of other counties.
Based on documentary evidence, several possible family lines can be identified. In Derbyshire, it appears that the Peet surname first developed in neighbouring Staffordshire, then spread east into Derbyshire, Leicestershire and other counties, and west into Shropshire as well as to Montgomeryshire in Wales, where the name Peate is still found. Many people in the USA bearing the Peet surname, are descended from John Peet (c.1597-1684) of Stratford, Connecticut. He came from the parish of Duffield in Derbyshire. The earliest record of a Peet-related name in Staffordshire is from 1274, when John de Pete held about 30 acres of land in Denston. Denston was a small community near the border with Derbyshire, only some 20 miles from Duffield.
Another main source of the Peet surname was Lancashire. The documentary evidence suggests that the Peet surname in Lancashire developed later (17th century) and independently, although earlier migration from elsewhere into the county is also possible. There is an early record of Thomas Peet alias Pink, who married Emblin Gore in Ormskirk in 1657. It is possible to construct an outline family tree which in principle can account for all of the main early branches of the Peet family in Lancashire, beginning with this couple. Whether in practice this can explain all of the early Peet families, is open to debate. Many other Peet families migrated into Lancashire during the Industrial Revolution.
Other places with records of Peet and related surnames, found prior to the 15th century and possibly of independent origin, include Essex and London, and Cambridgeshire. These lines did not develop to a significant degree in those local areas into modern times, but they are important historically because of migration to other places.
Other English counties where the Peet or Peat surname is now found, include Yorkshire and Nottinghamshire. Whether the surname developed independently there, or whether ther was migration from neighbouring counties, is unclear. A small group with the surname 'Pete', including Robert Pete and his wife Alice, was recorded near Rotherham in South Yorkshire in 1378/9.
It is clear that there are many unanswered questions about the early origins and possible common ancestry for the various Peet/Peat family lines. This project aims to clarify that situation.