Coat of Arms & Family Crests Store
Rabbets Coat of Arms / Rabbets Family CrestThe surname of RABBETS was a baptismal name 'the son of Radbode' meaning a messenger. This name was originally derived from the Germanic personal name, composed of the elements HROD and BODO. The name was found occasionally in England before the Conquest, but in the main it was introduced into England by the Normans, and quickly became popular among all classes of society. The name is also spelt RABBATTS, RABET, RABITTE, ROBERTE, RAPPIT and RABBEKE. There is a place RABBIT'S farm in Dallington, County Sussex, which owes its name to John ROBET, who settled there in 1288. Hereditary surnames were originally imported from France into England during the Norman Conquest of 1066. In the two centuries or so after the Conquest surnames were acquired by most families of major landholders, and many landed families of lesser importance. There appears to have been a constant trickle of migration into Britain between about the years 1200 and 150O, mostly from France and the Low Countries, with a small number of migrants from Scandinavia, Germany, Italy and the Iberian peninsular, and occasional individuals from further afield. During this period groups of aliens settled in this country as for example, the Germans who from the late 15th century onwards settled in Cumbria to work the metal mines. Immigration during this time had only a small effect on the body of surnames used in Britain. In many cases, the surnames of immigrants were thoroughly Anglicised. The late sixteenth century saw the arrival, mostly in London and the south-coast ports of large numbers of people fleeing from the war regions of France. The earliest of the name on record appears to be RABBODE (without surname) who was listed as a tenant in the Domesday Book of 1086, and RADBODE (without surname) was recorded in Norfolk in 1166. RABOT de Bovington was documented in Yorkshire in 1300, and Sygwat RADBODE appears in Norfolk in 1317. The associated coat of arms is recorded in Sir Bernard Burkes General Armory. Ulster King of Arms in 1884. Registered at Dunwich and Bramfield Hall, County Sussex. John RABETT was the Bailiff of Dunwich, County Suffolk in 1453; William RABETT Esq, of Bramfield and Dunwich was MP for Dunwich in 1468. |
