Height

This interesting and unusual surname is a variant of Hight, which is of Anglo-Saxon origin, and is topographical for someone who lived at the top of the hill or on a piece of raised ground, derived from the Middle English (1200 - 1500) "heyt", summit, height, from the Olde English pre 7th Century "hiehthu", a derivative of "heah", high. Topographical surnames were among the earliest created, since both natural and man made features in the landscape provided easily recognisable distinguishing names. The surname development since 1275 (see below) includes the following: Robert atte Heyte (1279, Oxfordshire), Jana Hayght (1548, Yorkshire), Elizabeth Haight (1602, London). The modern surname recordings are found as Height, Hight and Hite, and among them are: Elizabeth Hight, who married Thomas Darby on May 15th 1756 at St. James' Church, Westminster, and John Hight, who married Mary Gilbert, on June 17th 1782, also at St. James', which seems to be an epicentre for this spelling form The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Henry de la Heyt, which was dated 1275, in the "Hundred Rolls of Derbyshire", during the reign of King Edward 1, known as "The Hammer of the Scots", 1272 - 1307. 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.