Woollett

This interesting and unusual name is of Anglo-Saxon origin, and represents the rare survival of an Olde English pre 7th Century personal name, "Wulfgeat". Few native given names were retained after the Norman Conquest of 1066, when a large number of Continental personal names were introduced and subsequently became very popular, either from choice or expediency. The name "Wulfgeat" is composed of the elements "wulf", wolf, and the ethnic name "Geat". This refers to the original Scandinavian people to which the legendary 'Beowulf' belonged. 'Wulfgeat' is recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 in a variety of forms including "Wluiet, Wluiat, Vlfiet, etc. Not surprisingly the name generated a number of surnames, ranging from Wolfit, Woolfit(t), Woffit and Woolvett, to Woollett, Woolatt, and the mainly Yorkshire Ullett, Ulyet, Ulyatt, and Ullyott. Medieval recordings of the surname include Robert Woluyet (1306, Essex); Robert Woluet (1315, ibid.); and Margaria Woliet (1351, ibid.). Later examples of the name recording include Beatrix Ulliotte, the daughter of Antholie Ulliotte, who was christened at Danby in Cleveland, Yorkshire, on October 12th 1586, John Ulyat who married Ann Classan at St Georges Chapel, London on June 17th 1742, and finally Emily Ullyatt, daughter of Thomas Ullyatt, christened at the church of St Denis, York, on December 31st 1854, in the reign of Queen Victoria. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Godwyn Ulfget, which was dated 1095, in the Rolls of Bury St Edmunds, 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.