Recorded as Bootie and Booty, this is an English surname. Recorded mainly in the East Anglian counties of England, the derivation is from the Old English pre 7th century male given name, 'Bota', and as such it was a nickname of endearment for someone short in stature, or probably given the robust humour of those times, the complete reverse! It originates from the word 'butt', meaning tree stump, or perhaps after the Norman Invasion of 1066 from the Old French word 'bot', meaning a butt or cask, and used in a transfered sense to apply to a "rounded" person. The placename Booton in thwe county of Norfolk is also named from the personal name with the addition of 'tun', meaning "Botas village". The surname development taken from surviving charters and registers of the county of Suffolk include those of John Boty in 1562, Sybell Boottye in 1567, James Bootie and 1588, and A Suffolk family by the name of Booty were granted the following arms: Argent, a lion's head erased sable (a black lion's head on a silver shield). One Lucrecia Booty married Cuthbert Pratt at St. Dunstan's, Stepney, London, on February 21st 1630. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of John Botye (marriage to Elizabeth Carver), which was dated November 1st 1559, St. Stephen's, Norwich, during the reign of Queen Elizabeth 1, 'Good Queen Bess', 1558 - 1603. 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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