Name of the Week: Everett

 

 

Origin:

Everett is a later form (and surname variant) of Everard, brought over to Britain by the Normans as a form of the Old Germanic name Eburhard — ebur "boar" and hard "brave, hardy." This was cognate with the Old English name Eoferheard.

Usage:

The Old English form, Eoferheard, was certainly in some use before the Norman invasion of 1066 in Britain, though not in high frequency. The Prosopography of Anglo-Saxon England (PASE) lists six moneyers with the name prior to the Conquest, but other examples are rare. After the Conquest, Eoferheard was reinforced by the Germanic Eberhard, and there are seven subtenants in 1086 with the name (recorded as Ebrardus and Eurardus) in the Domesday book. Given the shift of power to Norman hands, these lords were undoubtedly using the Germanic form of the name rather than the Anglo-Saxon. Reaney and Wilson point out that, though the name Everard may sometimes be from the Old English Eoferheard, many bearers of the name during the Middle Ages were from the Continent, and the surname forms usually correspond with the Germanic cognate.  Saint Evrard or Eberhard, Duke of Friuli (815-866), was a key figure in the Carolingian Empire and a notable military and political leader, who may have influenced the use of the name in Europe. Another saint to bear the name was Saint Eberhard of Salzburg a.k.a. Saint Everard (d. 1164).  The use of Everard in Britain was substantial enough that it created the surnames Everard, Everett, Everatt, Everitt, Evered and Everid. Everard was used from the 15th century particularly by the aristocracy, most notably the Digby family. One Sir Everard Digby (c. 1578–1606) was one of the Gunpowder Plotters of 1605.  Data from the Surname Atlas (click to enlarge) As with all surnames, Everett itself began use as a given name from the 16th century, usually as an adoption of a family surname. By the 19th century, it became better established as a given name. There are even instances of Everetta in use as a feminised form, though sometimes Everett itself was used for girls. Intriguingly, data from the 1881 census shows that Everett as a given name was most popular in Nottinghamshire, but this does not correspond (as is usual) to the areas where the surname was most common (see image, right) Statutory birth registrations per decade in England & Wales for Everett and Everard:   Everett Everard 1840s: 1850s: 1860s: 1870s: 1880s: 1890s: 1900s: 1910s: 1920s: 1930s: 1940s: 1950s: 1960s: 1970s:  35 births 61 births 80 births  87 births 124 births 121 births 99 births 90 birth 75 births 46 birth 37 births 30 births 51 births 16 births 53 births 97 births 85 births 156 births 180 births 221 births 183 births 156 births 110 births 60 births 47 births 31 births 25 births 8 births Having peaked in the 1880s and 1890s, Everett gradually began to decline over the course of the 20th century.  From 1996 to 2010, Everett did not appear in the official name rankings for England and Wales at all: meaning that no more than two children were given the name in any given year. However, in 2010 it ranked #3865 with 4 births, and has been rising ever since 2013.  In 2015, Everett ranked #1511 with 16 births.  Everett was not registered at all in Scotland from 1974 to 2010. In 2010, 2012 and 2013 Everett was registered for one boy in each year.

Famous Bearers:

History: * Saint Evrard of Friuli (815-866), Carolingian military and political leader. * Saint Everard of Salzburg (d. 1164), Catholic saint. Literature and Other Media: * Dr. Everett Von Scott, character in The Rocky Horror Picture Show.

Variants:

Everard (English), Évrard (French), Eberhard (German), Eberardo (Spanish)

Pronunciation:

EV-ə-rət [key]

Possible diminutives:

Ev, Rhett, Rev

Sibling Names:

Briar     Ophelia     Beatrix     Sylvie     Juniper     Rosalind  Jonas     August     Soren     Brooks     Willem     Magnus

Name Lists:

Vintage Names  Upright Elegance

 

If you like Everett you may also like:    Emmett, Redvers, Beckett, Ewart, Benett, Lachlan, Digby, Thaddeus, Rafe, Broderick