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{{distinguish|text=the South Asian surname [[Bhat]], sometimes spelled "Butt"}}

'''Butt''' is a German and an English surname whose origins lie in the [[South West England|South West]] peninsula region of [[England]].<ref name="Internet Surname Database" />

== Etymology ==
The surname Butt or Butts is said to be derived from the [[French language|French]] word "but" which is a noun meaning "target".<ref name="Internet Surname Database">{{cite web|url=http://www.surnamedb.com/surname.aspx?name=Butt|title=Butt surname meaning|work=SurnameDB, The Internet Surname Database|publisher=Name Origin Research|accessdate=2009-02-12}}</ref> The English name is derived from the [[Middle English]] word "but", a noun meaning a mark for archery, a target or goal, or someone's rear end. The name may derive from the ''butt'',{{vague|date=August 2016|reason=appears editor didn't know what language, or perhaps contributed before others added languages of origin}} a strip of ploughland shorter than the average length of one [[furlong]].<ref name="White">White, William (1878). ''Notes and queries, Volume 58''. Oxford University Press</ref>

== History ==
[[Anglo-Normans|Anglo-Norman]] names are characterised by a multitude of spelling variations. When the [[Normans]] became the ruling people of England in the 11th century,<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-08-17 |title=Norman Conquest {{!}} Definition, Summary, & Facts {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/event/Norman-Conquest |access-date=2025-08-25 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref> they introduced a new language into a society where the main languages of [[Old English|Old]] and later Middle English had no definite spelling rules. These languages were more often spoken than written, so they blended freely with one another. Contributing to this mixing of tongues was the fact that medieval scribes spelled words according to sound, ensuring that a person's name would appear differently in nearly every document in which it was recorded. The name has been spelled Butt, But, Butte and others.

===England===
The surname can also be found in England where it is again of patronymic origin, meaning "son of Butt". First found in [[Middlesex]] where they were anciently seated, and were granted lands by [[William the Conqueror]], and recorded in the [[Domesday Book]] compiled in 1086. An early reference to this surname in 1200 England, William de Butte is listed in [[Oseney]]. From the archery-related meaning, the surname Butt in England was originally used to describe somebody who either lived near [[archery butts]], or someone who was actually an archer.<ref name="Internet Surname Database" /> The name has been particularly popular in [[Devon]] and [[Cornwall]] since the 17th century, with a number of variants from the same origin including Butts, and two names meaning "Son of Butt": Butson and Butting.<ref name="Internet Surname Database" />

===Migration to Canada===
{{unreferenced section|date=January 2013}}
For many English families, the political and religious disarray that plagued their homeland made the frontiers of the [[New World]] an attractive prospect. Thousands migrated, aboard cramped disease-ridden ships. They arrived sick, poor and hungry, but were welcomed in many cases with far greater opportunity than at home in England. Many of these hardy settlers went on to make important contributions to the emerging nations in which they landed. Among early immigrants bearing the name Butt or a variant listed above were, Roger Butt who settled in [[Carbonear, Newfoundland]] in 1675,<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Butt |first=W. John |date= |title=The Butt family of Newfoundland and Labrador |url=https://mha.mun.ca/mha/holdings/keith/pdf/butt/Butt%20-%20B%20-%20571%20-%20The%20Butt%20Family.pdf }}</ref> John Butt who settled in [[Conception Bay (Canada)|Conception Bay]], Newfoundland in 1706,<ref name=":0" /> and Joseph Butt settled in [[Crocker's Cove, Newfoundland]], in the same year.<ref name=":0" />

==Notable people with the surname Butt==
{{div col}}
* [[Aameen Taqi Butt]] (born 1946), Pakistani golfer
* [[Alfred Butt]], British theatre entrepreneur, Conservative politician and racehorse owner
* Major [[Archibald Butt]], military aide to U.S. presidents [[Theodore Roosevelt]] and [[William Howard Taft]]
* [[Anthony Butt]], New Zealand jockey
* [[Brent Butt]], Canadian stand-up comedian, actor and writer
* [[Charles Butt]], American grocer, son of Howard Butt
* [[Clara Butt]], English contralto
* [[Cyrus M. Butt]], American politician
* [[David Butt Philip|David Butt Phillip]], British operatic tenor
* [[Dudley Butt]], Manx politician
* [[Gavin Butt]], British art historian
* [[Gizz Butt]], British musician
* [[Hans-Jörg Butt]], German goalkeeper
* [[Harry Butt]], English cricketer
* [[Howard Edward Butt Sr.]], American founder of H-E-B grocery chain
* [[Hugh Butt]], American physician
* [[Isaac Butt]], an [[Ireland|Irish]] leader of the [[Home Rule League]]
* [[Jake Butt]], an American football tight end for the [[Denver Broncos]]
* [[John Butt (sport shooter)]], English sports shooter
* [[Len Butt (footballer born 1893)]], English footballer with Southampton and Bournemouth
* [[Len Butt (footballer born 1910)]], English footballer with Huddersfield Town and Blackburn Rovers
* [[Maggie Butt]], British poet
* [[Martha Haines Butt]] (1833–1871), American author, suffragist
* [[Miriam Butt]], German linguist
* [[Nicky Butt]], English footballer
* [[Peter Butt]], Australian filmmaker
* [[Ray Butt]], British film and television producer
* [[Raymond Butt]], British schoolteacher
* {{anbl|Ronald Butt}}
* [[Simon Butt]], British diplomat
* [[Sonya Butt]], a female [[Special Operations Executive|S.O.E.]] agent during the [[Second World War]]
* [[Tameka Butt]] (now Tameka Yallop), Australian association footballer
* [[Tom Butt]], American politician in California
* [[Wilfrid Butt]], British endocrinologist
* [[William Butt]], American politician in Georgia
* [[Yondani Butt]], orchestral conductor born in Macao
{{div col end}}

==See also==
* [[But (surname)]]
* [[Butts (surname)]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

{{Surname}}

[[Category:Surnames]]

Butt surname - Revision history

FerdinandGarden at 22:50, 9 May 2026