Guild of One-Name Studies

One-name studies, Genealogy

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    • 2,426 studies
    • 8,513 surnames

Retained profile for the former
Blackett One-Name Study

This study is no longer registered with the Guild, but this profile page has been retained at the member's request. Please note that neither officers nor members of the Guild are able to answer any questions about this study.

About the study

I set up www.theblacketts.com in 2007 in conjunction with two other Blackett descendants. The site includes the Blackett tree, now comprising approx 35,000 names, plus numerous articles on the Blacketts. In 2013 our book 'A History of the Blacketts' was published (see website for details), all profits from which will be donated to charity. The Blackett name was registered with the Guild of One-Name Studies in 2013.

Variant names

Blackett, Blacket, Blaket, Blakheved.

Name origin

The name can be traced back to late 13th-century Weardale in County Durham. At the time the spelling of Blakheved (with the usual slight variants) was used. In Middle English 'heved' means 'head'. The name could signify a place, though no records of a Black Head in the area have been found. The original person to bear the name may therefore simply have had very dark hair.

Historical occurrences of the name

Many Blacketts have made their mark over the centuries in different ways. There have been two baronetcies (one still extant), from one of which descended Sir Anthony Eden, later Lord Avon, who became Prime Minister of the UK on the retirement of Winston Churchill in 1955. Hill Blackett, a Chicago advertising man in the 1930s, was the father of the 'soap opera', so named as the chief sponsor of his radio dramas was Procter & Gamble. The most eminent Blackett to bear the name, however, was (Lord) Patrick Maynard Stuart Blackett (1897-1974), who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1948. Blackett Crater on the far side of the moon is named after him.

Name frequency

According to 2002 ONS data there were 2049 Blacketts in England and Wales, ranking the name as 3613 in order of frequency.

Distribution of the name

The name seems to have originated in County Durham and is still most frequently found in north-east England, though it can now be encountered throughout the English-speaking world. There have, however, been Blacketts living in London since at least the late 1500s. The connection with some of these has not yet been established but they may descend from mariners who sailed from the north-east to East Anglia and London and in some cases settled there.

Data

In addition to the usual BMD and parish records which are available online we hold numerous fiche or other copy documents such as wills, inquisitions post mortem, land records etc. Our full tree is accessible at www.theblacketts.com In addition, our book, 'A History of the Blacketts', published in 2013, is available through our website. We hope that over time this will become the principal source of reference for the history of the Blackett family (at least until someone publishes another one!)

Links

www.theblacketts.com

General Search Results

Occurrences of the surname Blackett in the Guild Indexes
(Click on the number to view the search results in each index. Indexes marked by * are only accessible by logged in Guild members.)
  • Marriages of the World (public)  3
  • Marriage Index 1837-1945* 76
  • Probate Index* 20
  • World Wide Marriages Index* 2
  • The Inscriptions Index* 1
  • BMD Index* 10
  • Members' Data Stores in which the name Blackett appears* 12
  • References to the name Blackett in the Guild Journal  1

Other Guild Websites

You may find our other Guild websites of interest:

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