Evatt

The surname "Evatt" is British, with Norman French roots. Modern spelling deviations include "Evatte," "Evett," "Evettes," "Evitt, "Evitts," "Evitte," and "Evittes." Early British spellings of this surname did not include the "double t," having, instead, a "single t," as in "Evot" and "Euote."

According to "The Book of English Surnames", all of the above "Evatt" surname spellings are diminutives of "Eve". Contrary to a commonly held belief, "Evatt" is not a derivative of the surname "Evans", as "Evan" is the Welsh form of "John", dating from about 1500 A.D., well after the "Evatt/Euote" surname was already in wide use in England.

The surname "Evatt/Euote" was first seen in England in the year 1295 A.D., and recorded in the Barnwell Church. The record concerned a William Walter Euote. [Reaney & Wilson [2] , page 157, surname: Evatt - William Walter Euote.]

The known Evatt Family Tree begins with the William Walter Euote referenced above. He was born about 1266 A.D. near Ruskington in Lincolnshire County, in England.

The Evatt family name can be found in England, the United States, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand. More Evatts are found in South Carolina than any other part of the world.

Following World War II, Herbert Vere Evatt (1894-1965), Australian jurist, politician and writer, achieved international fame as President of the United Nations General Assembly in 1948-49, where he was instrumental in the drafting of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948).

The Evatt family motto, as recorded on the Evatt family crest held by the Evatt family of New Zealand, is "Be Just and Fear Not"

Notes