Parratt

TThis is a dialectal variant of an unusual and interesting name Parrott, which derives from the diminutive of the given name Peter. Its origins lie in the Middle English name Perot, itself a derivation of the French Pierre. In France Pierrot i.e., Little Peter is still the name for a sparrow as Robin is in England for the redbreast. Parrott is the commonest form in the United States, but in the modern idiom the variations include Parrot, Parret(t), Parratt, Perot(t), Peret(t) and Perrat. One Abraham Parratt married Katherin Snow on March 12th 1657, and one Alex Parratt married Elizabeth Newell on January 2nd 1667. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of William Peret, which was dated 1066, in the "Domesday Book", Suffolk, during the reign of King William 1, known as "The Conqueror", 1066 - 1087. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.