A record of documented arms, meaning and origin, researched for the Burtt family of England.
Sir Bernard Burke, The General Armory of England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales, London: Harrison & Sons, 1884
Blazon (the actual original written record)“Ar. three bars az”
The Burtt arms were recorded in England, c. 1620.
Arms such as these were typically recorded in York.
Yorkshire is the largest of the English counties, and it held more gentry families than any other. Land there was split among a great many households rather than a few, so a great many of them carried arms.
This is where the arms were entered in the register. Families often moved to other parts of the country, so the same name can turn up in more than one region.
The body that granted and recorded arms in England in this period.
Reigning in England when the Burtt arms are first recorded.
English heraldry allowed arms to be shared by all legitimate descendants of the original owner. These symbols were treated as personal property that moved through the generations to all children. While the eldest son kept the original design, other family members could use the same shield without needing to change it or register their own unique versions.
The surname Burtt is rooted in the linguistic traditions of medieval England, likely originating as a descriptive nickname for a person with a stout or thickset physical build. By the early seventeenth century, the family had established a notable presence in the historic city of York. Records from 1620 confirm that members of the Burtt family were active participants in the social and economic life of this northern hub during a time of significant transition in England. As residents of a major ecclesiastical and commercial center, these early ancestors were likely involved in the local trades and civic governance that defined life in York. Over the following decades, the family name became firmly embedded in the regional history of Yorkshire, reflecting the broader patterns of migration and settlement that characterized English families of that era.
An Old English element meaning bright, shining, or illustrious.
