Watty Etymology

Occurrence, variation, and etymological relationship of the name Watty

Researching family history can be a difficult task. At times, documents, sources, and facts can become scarce. When this occurs, etymological methods can be used to continue your research. Etymology is the study of the history of words and how their form and meaning have changed over time. It makes it possible for us to trace the evolution of a name, even when there are no written records.

For languages with a long written history, etymologists make use of texts in these languages, and texts about the languages, to gather knowledge about how words were used at earlier stages, and when they entered the languages in question. Etymologists also apply the methods of comparative linguistics to reconstruct information about languages that are too old for any direct information to be available. By analyzing related languages with a technique known as the comparative method, linguists can make inferences about their shared parent language and its vocabulary. In this way, word roots have been found which can be traced all the way back to the origin of the language family.

Using etymology we can determine how the name Watty has changed in the last 1000 years. The origin of the name is found in the Celtic language, in the word “Wad'hari” which means warrior, leader. Celtic tribes were spread throughout Europe and their languages and names spread with them. The Celtic name “Wad'hari” eventually changed to “Walt her”, and finally became “Walter / Walther”. The name Watty is a diminutive form of the name “Walter”.

Spread of the Celts
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With Celtic culture and geographical expansion during the barbarian migration period around 9th Century B.C., the early forms of the name Watty spread throughout Western Europe. Celtic settlements branched out through Northwestern Europe from Ireland and England to France. Forms of the Celtic language can still be found today in the Gaelic languages of Wales, Scotland, Ireland, and the Breton language in Normandy.

The first appearance of the name “Wattin” or “Wettin”, attributed to Celtic origins, is found in the Alemannic Ostmark of the Holy Roman Empire around 1000 A.D., in the noble House of Wettin. Dedo I von Wettin, was the son of Dietrich I, also known as Thiedericus (Thierry) I of Liesgau (c. 916 – c. 976). Around 1000 A.D., as part of the German conquest of Slavic territory, the family acquired Wettin Castle, after which they named themselves. Dedo I. von Wettin (c. 950 – November 13, 1009) married Thetburge von Haldensleben and had a son, Dietrich II von Wettin. Dietrich II (c. 976 – November 19, 1034) married Matilda von Meissen and had two sons, Dedo II (Dedi) von Wettin (c. 1004 – October 1075) and Thimo von Wettin (c. 1030 – March 9, 1091). Thimo’s son changed his name to Konrad von Meissen and Dedi did not have any sons, so the line ended here.

Around the 14th century a form of our name appears in an old Irish ballad, “The Welshmen of Tirawley”. References are made to the “sons of Wattin” and “Wattin Barrett”. The ballad is based on the true story of the Barrett Clan feuding with the Lynotts Clan. The Barrett families of northern Co. Mayo, in the northwest of Ireland, became known as the ‘Lords of Tirawley’. The chief of the name in Mayo was at times referred to as ‘MacWattin’ and is given in the works of the Four Masters as MacVaittin, according to O’Donovan. The families in Mayo held considerable lands until the end of the 1600’s, when they suffered confiscations. There are conflicting opinions on the Barrett’s origin. Some say that they are completely Norman in origin and came to Ireland with the Norman warlord Strongbow (Richard Le Clare, the Duke of Pembroke) at the end of the twelfth century. Others say that some of the Barrett’s arrived in Ireland from England and some came with Strongbow from Normandy.

According to an English source, the Anglo-Saxon origin of the name Watty including variations such as Waldie, Waddy, Waddie, Waldy, Waltho and more, comes from the lords of Waldeve manor in the town of Kelso on the Tweed River, Roxburghshire county in the Scottish borders.

Scottish forms of the name Watty are also found in the census rolls and tax lists for the county of Argyll in Scotland.

An interesting observation that may link our family to Scotland and Ireland is the similarity of elements in our coat of arms with certain elements of Irish and Scottish coats of arms. The blue background and harp for instance.

1988 Watty Coat of Arms.
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Irish Arms
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Scottish Arms
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In the 16th and 17th century localized modifications of the name Watty can be found in Cornwall, England and on the other side of the English Channel in Pas-de-Calais, northwestern France. The name is also present, but less common throughout the northern and central regions of France.

Spread of the Watty name
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At the end of the 16th century, the exodus of the Huguenots from France started spreading the early forms of the name Watty all over Europe. Families with the name or a variation of it settled in England, Belgium, Holland, Germany, Italy and Austria.

During and after the Protestant Reformation Germany became a popular destination for sufferers of religious persecution such as the Flemings, Walloons, and Dutchmen who fled from the Spanish Duke of Alba. They settled in the Lower Rhine, Eastern Friesland, and Hamburg. In 1588 the Dutch founded their first reformed church in Stade. A variation of the name Watty appears around 1591, when the widow of Watier de la Vigne is detected in the church community (re 1, re 2). In Belgium, Holland and Germany the name Watty and its variations can still be found today.

Similar to the Dutch Protestants, the Huguenots fled to countries that would accept their religious beliefs. In 1529 Hamburg already had its first Protestant church order. Even though the Protestant immigrants were allowed to live in Germany and practice their religion, the Lutherans in Hamburg did not allow them complete religious freedom. The increased business, trade relations, and education between the Dutch, the Huguenots and the Germans were welcome, but the Germans did not completely trust them and were possibly envious of the rapid prosperity and prestige they received. In Germany around 1570, French immigrants with variations of the name Watty can be found in the southwestern town of Frankenthal in Rhineland-Palatinate as well as to the north in Celle, and Magdeburg.

A tinsmith named Ambrosius Watty emigrated from central France to Turin, Italy. His line ends in the ‘Cerruti’ family, but a connection to the German Watty’s has not been found.

In the early 17th century, some of our ancestors from England emigrated to North America and the Caribbean. Two families with the name Watty, who left England for religious reasons, can be found in Virginia in 1623 with the colony of Christopher Stokes. Another family with the name Watty was found in the British colony of Barbados. There are no other traces of the Watty name in Barbados, but at the end of 20th century on the neighboring island of Dominica an honorary consul of the United States with the name Watty appears. More British emigrants with the name Watty can also be found in Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

In the 19th century, still more families with the name Watty immigrated to the United States from Romania, Poland, Denmark, Sweden and Norway although a connection to the Hamburg, Germany family has not been verified. In addition, it is important to remember that the immigration officers at Ellis Island often changed a similar name into ‘Watty’.

As you can see, using etymology in conjunction with documentation and facts gives us more clues regarding our family history. This is how the assumption is made that Joseph Wattin, who is the oldest documented ancestor of the Hamburg line of Watty descendants, was a Huguenot. More supporting evidence was his profession as a wigmaker and his good social status in Hamburg. The Perruquier (wig makers) guild during this time mainly worked for the French court and nobility. The first wig maker’s guild was founded in Paris in 1656 while the first in Germany wasn’t until 1716 in Berlin.

Joseph’s name is first listed in the Hamburg baptism register in 1720 and in the protected persons register in 1732. The protected persons register has existed since 1713, but unfortunately from 1714-1732 there is a gap of missing information. Because of his low sequential number (#146), we can assume that he came to Hamburg around 1715/16. His first marriage probably didn’t occur until after 1708 in Hamburg. In 1751 his name is listed in the parish register regarding his second marriage. Over time his name was written with five different spellings in the Hamburg registers.

In 1650/51 Johan Walthien (Waltin) from Bremen can be found in the foreign citizen’s register of Hamburg. He became a citizen of Hamburg in 1653. A correlation between Joseph and Johan has not been made yet, but it is interesting that our ancestor Joseph named all of his sons Johan.

Etymology can also help correct mistakes. The previously held notion by the author of the first German genealogy that the Hamburg line of descendants came from the Cape of Good Hope has been proven false with relative certainty. There is no reference to any settlers with a name resembling Watty in the complete lists of the South African Genealogical Society to back up this thesis.

Other occurrences of the name Watty and its spread throughout the world

Watty's throughout the world
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Since the beginning of the 18th century many factors including economic and religious justifications have contributed to emigration out of Europe. Due to these factors the Watty name has spread all over the world.

In the North American Native American census there were nearly 200 male and female members of the Cherokee and Shoshone tribes with a variation of the name Watty, including a mixture of first, last and nicknames. For example in the Cherokee tribe the first name ‘Wahdih’ can be found. More than likely they are not directly related to the German line of descendants because it was common for the census agents to write down a name that was familiar to them. Watty was often used as a nickname or diminutive form of the first name Walter.

In the US Army recruiting registers for WWII, there are a lot of African American Watty’s listed.

In the Philippines and Southeast Asia we can find some, mostly female individuals with the name Watty, but there is no proof of a connection to the European or American Watty’s.

Many direct descendants of the German Watty’s can be traced to Mexico. The Mexican Watty’s lineage began with a merchant from Hamburg who settled there.

Naming Conventions

In Mexico it is tradition, that when a couple is married that the family name becomes a combination of the male last name and the female last name. For example: Maria Eugenia Watty Urquidi (a daughter of a male Watty and his spouse whose maiden name was Urquidi) married Victor Manuel Villar Calvo (son of a male Villar and his spouse whose maiden name was Calvo). Maria and Victor’s son is named Gerardo Villar Watty, but he is not a direct descendant of the Watty’s, instead he belongs to the line of the Villar’s.

In Germany there is a special naming convention as well. It is possible for a married couple to choose their family name (last name of the male, last name of the female, part for both, a combination of both or each person keeps their own last name). For example, if a female keeps the last name Watty and is married to a male with the last name Pfluger, it is possible that the children are baptized with the name Watty, but they are not direct descendants of the Watty’s in a strict genealogical sense, instead they belong to the Pfluger’s.