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Vant

About the study

I have always had an interest in history but having recently, 2010/11, met and married Ken Toll, I was fascinated by his one name study and was accompanying him to Guild events and learning a lot. I soon decided to undertake a study of my own. However, my own family names were either too frequently occurring, Carter, Baker, James or Bird, or already being done, as in my birth name, Buttery. I could have carried out a study of one of these and not registered it - but that did not appeal. After finally doing a little research on Ken's partial study of his mother's maiden name Vant, I decided to take it over, expand it and register it with the Guild. The rest, as they say, is history!

Variant names

The main variants of VANT are Vaunt Vent, Vont, Vunt, Vantt, Vante. In certain circumstances it is possible that Vent can either be an aberrant, as in misspelling etc, or much more often as a name in its own right and is therefore quite difficult to categorise. After further research I have now de-registered Vent, as I am convinced that it does not have the same root. Vont & Vunt could soon follow.

Name origin

The earliest mention I have found, so far, is for Stephen Vant, Bookbinder on 17 October 1379 in The Parish Fraternity Register, Fraternity of the Holy Trinity and SS Fabian and Sebastian (Parish of St Botolph without Aldersgate, London, England).

It seems that in both Kent and Yorkshire Vant was originally Vaunt and the 'U' was mostly dropped by the 1600s. It did persist in some families until the 1800s. Many of the surname dictionaries are indicating that the names Vant & Fant come from the French L'Enfant. This might be true for Fant, but I am convinced that this is not the case for Vant, Fant seems to originate and persist in Ireland - Vant & Vaunt are not found in Ireland apart from the odd import. The origins of the name Vant or Vaunt as it was originally need further research.

Historical occurrences of the name

By far the greatest populations of Vant were in the West Ashford Area of Kent, and Ripon, Studley Royal and Knaresborough Areas of Yorkshire. There were smaller families in other areas of Kent, Yorkshire, London, and Portsmouth.

Name frequency

In 1881 the Vant population was 197, mainly in the Kent and Yorkshire areas. There were also 32 with the name Vent. By this time Vaunt, Vont, & Vunt were almost nonexistent in the UK.

According to a ONS database there were 348 Vants, as well as 93 named Vent in September 2002. This makes Vant the 14784th most common name in England, Wales and The Isle of Man. Again Vaunt, Vont, & Vunt were almost non-existent.

The location and frequency of Vent leads me to believe that it is almost certainly a separate name and I have now de-registered it from my study.

Distribution of the name

In 1881 the name was found mainly in Kent and Yorkshire with smaller concentrations in Hampshire and London, now of course, it has spread far and wide with families in, amongst other areas, Kent, Yorkshire, London, Hampshire and Essex, as well as Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the USA. In the early 1900s there was a Jewish family, who originated in Russia /Poland and migrated, some to London and some to the USA.

Data

All post 1837, England and Wales births, deaths and marriages that have been found are recorded.

Post 1858 Probate records and some early Wills

Census returns information 1841- 1911. Again Vaunt, Vont, & Vunt were almost non-existent.

Pre 1837 Parish Record information from Kent, Yorkshire and London.

Some very early original records have been studied.

Some data and information has also been gathered from overseas, mainly USA, New Zealand, Canada and Australia.

Emphasis has been mainly on Vant & Vaunt but all mentions of the other variants are also recorded.

Trees for three major Vant families have been reconstructed & are still being added to, others are in progress.

For future research the intention is to concentrate on the Vants and then follow on with the variants, gathering all the information I can, constructing trees and recording life events worldwide.

DNA

As yet there has been no DNA involvement but it has not been ruled out for the future.

Links

I have a website at vant.one-name.net which contains the three main trees one from Yorkshire & two from Kent, with a view to adding to these as other information is found. Further trees will be added as and when they are developed. The website is fully viewable and searchable - all living people are hidden - if you require to see any hidden people, you will need to contact me and demonstrate your relationship to the Vant families.

Contact

Mrs Jean Toll

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