Oviatt Family History

English (Surrey): variant of Ovett a name mainly found in Sussex probably from the Middle English personal name Uviet spelled Ouyet. This could represent Old English Ūf(e)gēat or Ufegēat; the personal name Ufegeat is recorded in Old English documents but the length of the initial vowel is uncertain.

With a long first vowel the name might be a compound of Old English ūf ‘owl’ + a linking vowel -e- + the tribal name Gēat. With a short initial vowel the first element could be ufe- as in Old English ufemest ‘uppermost highest’. An alternative possibility is that Uviet represents either of two other Old English names Wulfgēat (male) or Wulfgȳth (female) with Wulf- shortened to Uf-.

Final -et was presumably re-interpreted as the Old French Middle English hypocoristic suffix -et for which -ot was commonly substituted. The surname Ovett had a long history in Brighton (Sussex) and in the New Forest (Hampshire) but it also had a presence in the Midlands from at least the 16th century.

The variant Oviatt which is found mainly in Surrey probably originates from the family in Hampshire or the South Midlands.