Published at 15:49, Wednesday, 11 November 2009

THIS surname is derived from the first name of Robert (Son of Rob or Robin). The name is to be found mainly throughout the far North East of England; the early Robsons can be traced back principally to Tynedale and found also in Liddesdale and West Teviotdale.

The clan had its roots in the Picts, an ancient Scottish warlike tribe which roamed and pillaged, mainly throughout the Border counties; and was especially active during the Roman occupation, causing Hadrian to build the wall as a barrier against hostile elements.

The elements forming the name are said to be Old English – ‘hroth’ , meaning fame; and ‘berht’, meaning bright. How the conjoining of these two expressions came to be pronounced as ROBSON can only be ascribed to the vagaries of pronunciation in pre- and post- medieval times. The Robson clan, in association with other Tynedale families such as the Charltons and the Milburns, were a thorn on the side of Tynedale residents on account of their violent forays and raiding.

The family motto is: Be Just

SCOTT is one of the 12 commonest surnames in Scotland, a Border name, from the Old English term scott, originally meaning an Irishman; later a ‘Gael from Scotland’. In the Border counties, where the surname is common, the name means ‘a man from Scotland’, not necessarily a ‘Gael’. A ‘Gael’ is a Gaelic-speaking person, or the descendant of same.

The surname may also derive from a personal name (O.E. - SCOTT.)

Twelfth century Scots of Eastern England may well have been retainers of King David I (1081-1153), King of Scotland, who succeeded to the extensive lands of Waltheof, Earl of Huntingdon, on his marriage to Waltheof’s daughter. Many of the name remained in England and their surnames became hereditary.

In 1327 a Subsidy Roll (carried out to enable a parliamentary grant to be made to the sovereign) for the county of Suffolk showed that there were 35 men named Skot. Some may have been retainers of Scottish nobles who accepted Edward I’s (1239-1307) overlordship and fought against Scotland’s Robert the Bruce.

The surname may also have absorbed the name Scutt which is also found in Eastern England and is probably a derivation of the Old French word ‘Escoute’ (a ‘spy’) which became the Middle English name ‘Scut’, on occasions being confused with ‘Scot.’ Perhaps the name Scutt came into vogue because of those Scots who fought against Robert the Bruce, effectively being adjudged traitors, or ‘spies.’

THERE are allegedly royal connections to this surname. It is said to be derived from the Old Norse word Teitr, meaning cheerful, or gay (in the proper meaning of the word). The Venerable Bede – an Anglo-Saxon theologian and historian – claimed that Teitr had been used as a nick-name for Ethelberga, the daughter of Ethelbert (c 552-616), King of Kent. In view of the great difference between the lifetimes of these two men (Bede was born 57 years after the death of Ethelbert), it can only have been hearsay.

There are several variations of the name, such as Tate, Tayte, Taite and Teyte. Tait was used as a personal name in Norway in the 11th century.

The name Ulric Tates was documented in Lancashire in 1095; at Cambridge in 1273, one Nicholas Tate is recorded; whilst Alexander Tayt was the Burgess of Edinburgh in 1381 and Sir Robert Tate was the Lord Mayor of London in 1448.In Scotland the name first cropped up in Berwickshire where the Clan had a seat from early times. It is appropriate to point out that the name goes much further back into the Middle Ages (AD 500 – AD 1500; generally accepted as that period between the collapse of the Roman Empire and the Renaissance) than many others. It is a truly ancient name.

The family’s coat of arms is detailed – an arm enibowed and couped at the shoulder vested per pale gules and, or holding in the hand proper a pine branch of the second.

Their motto is: Thincke (sic) and Thanks.

The Taits made their family seat at Bank House, Alnwick, Northumberland.

Acknowledgements: Ancestor Search; Wilkpedia; House of Names.

Published by http://www.whitehaven-news.co.uk