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Vant

About the study
Variant names
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
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
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.