Wherrit

Recorded in many spellings including Warret, Warrett, Warratt, Werrat, Werrett, Werrit, Wherret, Wheritt, Wharett, and others, this is an English surname. It is almost certainly of Anglo-Saxon pre 7th century origins and probably derives from short forms of the Old German names Werrin and Warin or the later Norman Weric and Gueric, all of which mean "war". This may seem as strange name to give to anybody, but attitudes were very different, and names were regarded as defining attitudes. So basically somebody called "war" would be expected to grow up being a protector of his family, and to have the necessary disciplined fighting qualities. Furthermore as many parts of the continent in that period of history known as "The Dark Ages" were more or less permanently at war, how better to prepare a child for the future than by a name which was a continual reminder. In this case the surname is a diminutive. It means "Little War" or more likely "son of War" with a short or fused form of the French word "petit" added as a suffix. The surname is well recorded in the surviving early church registers of the diocese of Greater London, with Stephen Werret being a christenening witness at St Martin in the Field, Westminster, on November 25th 1610, and Marry Werratt, the daughter of John Werratt, being christened at St Dunstans in the East, Stepney, on October 14th 1624.