Hart Family History

English and North German: nickname from Middle English hert (Old English heorot) Middle Low German hërte harte ‘hart stag’ perhaps for a quick-footed or timorous individual. German: variant of Hardt 1 and It is also found in France (Alsace and Lorraine). Jewish (Ashkenazic): artificial name or nickname from German and Yiddish hart ‘hard’. Dutch: from a short form of an ancient Germanic personal name with the first element hard ‘hardy brave strong’. Dutch (‘t Hart): from Middle Dutch hart modern Dutch hert ‘deer hart’ or hart ‘heart’ applied as a topographic or habitational name referring to a house or inn named for instance ‘t Vliegend Hart (‘the Flying Deer’) or ‘t Dorstig Hart (‘the Thirsty Heart’). Compare De Hart . Americanized form (a shortened and altered translation) of some of the French surnames containing the word coeur ‘heart’: Francoeur Jolicoeur Vadeboncoeur .7: French: from an Old French word meaning ‘rope’ hence possibly a metonymic occupational name for a rope maker or a hangman.8: Irish (Sligo): Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó hAirt ‘descendant of Art’ a byname meaning ‘bear’ or ‘hero’. The English surname became established in Ireland in the 17th century. Compare Hartin .9: Native American (Cheyenne): from a shortened and altered English translation of the Cheyenne personal name Homa'ehesta ‘Beaver Heart’ composed of homa'e ‘beaver’ (see also Beaver ) and hesta ‘heart’.

Source: Dictionary of American Family Names 2nd edition, 2022