Guyot

This unusual and interesting surname is of Old French origin, introduced into England after the Conquest of 1066, and has two possible sources. Firstly, the surname may derive from a diminutive of the personal name "Guy", a French form of the Germanic personal name "Wido", of uncertain origin. It may be from the Old High German "witu", Olde English pre 7th Century "widu" or "wudu", meaning a wood, or else from the German "wit", Olde English "wid", meaning wide. This name was popular among the Normans in the forms "Wi" and "Why", and in France as "Guy". In some instances the surname may be an occupational name for a guide, deriving from the Old French "gui", guide (a derivative of "gui(d)er", to guide). Job-descriptive surnames originally denoted the actual occupation of the namebearer, and later became hereditary. The surname has many variant spellings ranging from Guitt, Guiet and Guite, to Guyet and Guyot. Recordings of the surname from various Church Registers include: the marriage of Richard Guite and Elizabeth Berrye on October 14th 1568, at Goodnestone by Sandwich, Kent; the marriage of Perrine Guiet and Simon Brossard on June 15th 1605, at Cerans-Foulletourte, Sarthe, France; and the christening of Sarah Anne, daughter of Thomas and Sarah Guiett, on December 3rd 1854, at East Clandon, Surrey. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Richard Guiet, which was dated 1141, in the "Chartulary of Colchester Abbey", Essex, during the reign of King Stephen, known as "Count of Blois", 1135 - 1154. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.