Pitt
Usually a surname for someone who lived by a pit, hollow, or excavation.
The #3,873 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 33,739 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Pitt is generally explained as an English topographic surname from Old English pytt, meaning a pit, hollow, or quarry-like excavation. The word ultimately goes back to Latin puteus, “well” or “pit.” In some cases, the name may have been reinforced or reshaped by the related personal name Pita, but the place-based explanation is the standard one.
History
Medieval records show forms such as Robert in the Pyt and Simon atte Pitte, which fit the common English pattern of surnames formed from where a person lived. Related forms like Pitts and Pittman developed later, with Pittman meaning someone associated with a pit or pit-like place. The surname is established in England and later appears in Britain and its overseas descendants.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The surname can also appear in older records with the preposition still attached, as in atte Pitte, literally “at the pit.”
From the historical record
“charter and seem to relate to Patney, Wilts. PITT (Eng.) I Dweller at a Pit [O.E. />;;<(< (Lat. pute-us] Robert in the Pyt.— Pari. Writs, A.X>. 1300. Simon atte Pitte. — Close Rolls, A..^. iZC,2. 2 (rarely) the A.-Sax. pers. name Pita.”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)Notable people named Pitt
- Brad Pitt (b. 1963)
- William Pitt the Younger (1759–1806)
- William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham (1708–1778)
Sourced from Wikidata; linked to their Wikipedia page.