Oviatt Family History
Oviatt Name Meaning
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.
Source: Dictionary of American Family Names 2nd edition, 2022
