Recorded in many spellings as shown below, this is an English surname, but one which is usually of French origins. It has only a slight association with "birds" as described, and is usually regarded as being a diminutive of the 'modern' spelling of the given name of Peter. If so its origins lie in the Middle English name 'Perot', itself a derivation of the popular French name Pierre, introduced into the British Isles after the conquest of England by the Norman-French in 1066. In France Pierrot, meaning Little Peter, is the name given to a sparrow, as Robin is in England for the famous Redbreast. Parrott is the most popular form of the name in the United States, but in the modern idiom the variations include Parrot, Parrott, Parrett, Parratt, Perott, Perett, Perrat, and many others. Two early examples of the surname recordings include Catherine Parrott, who was christened at the famous church of St. Martin-in-the-Fields, Westminster, in 1556, and Anne Parrott who married John Mushel at St. Pancras Old Church, in the city of London in 1686. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of William Peret. This was dated 1086, in the famous Domesday Book, in this case for the county of Suffolk, during the reign of King William 1st, known as "The Conqueror", 1066 - 1087. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.

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