This interesting surname is a double diminutive form of "Bart, Bert", a pet form of Bartholomew, plus the diminutive suffixes "-el" and "-ot"; hence, "Bart-, Bert-el-ot". Bartholomew itself originates from a medieval English name which ultimately derives from the Aramaic patronymic "bar-Talmay", son of Talmay, a given name meaning "having many furrows", that is, rich in land. As a given name in Christian Europe, its popularity is due to the apostle St. Bartholomew, the patron saint of tanners, vintners and butlers. The surname itself first appears in records in the mid 12th Century (see below), while other early recordings include: Thomas Bartolot, in the Cambridgeshire Hundred Rolls (1273); Walter Bertelot, in the Subsidy Rolls of Sussex (1296); Thomas Bartelot in the Feet of Fines of Cambridgeshire (1294); and Thomas Bartlot, in the Poll Tax Records of Yorkshire (1379). One Robert Bartlett was one of the early settlers in New England in June 1632. A Coat of Arms granted to a family so called in Devonshire depicts on a silver shield, two black bars between three black cinquefoils. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Godricus Bertelot, which was dated circa 1157, in "St. Benet of Holme, 1020 - 1240", Norfolk, during the reign of King Henry 11, known as "The Builder of Churches", 1154 - 1189. 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.

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