Contents [hide]

Hackett History Etymology Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables World Ranking

United States Australia New Zealand West Indies South Africa

Contemporary Notables Related Stories Motto Suggested Reading Citations

Hackett History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Ireland

Etymology of Hackett

What does the name Hackett mean?

The Strongbownians added their own naming traditions to the eastern region of Ireland to which they arrived. The impact of this new tradition was not extremely disruptive to the pre-existing Irish tradition because the two had many similarities. Both cultures made significant use of hereditary surnames. And like the Irish, the Strongbownians often used prefixes to build patronymic surnames, which are names based on the given name of the initial bearer's father or another older relative. Strongbow's followers often created names that were built with the prefix Fitz-, which was derived from the French word fils, and ultimately from the Latin filius, both of which mean son. They also used diminutive suffixes such as -ot, -et, -un, -in, or -el, and occasionally even two suffixes combined to form a double diminutive such as -el-in, -el-ot, -in-ot, and -et-in, to build patronymic names. The surname Hackett is derived from the medieval given names Hack or Hake. These English names were derived from the Old Norse name Haki, which is a cognate of the English name Hook and was originally given to someone with a hunched figure or a hooked nose. Before being imported to Ireland, the surname Hackett was chiefly popular in the western midlands of England. The Gaelic form of the name Hackett is Haicéid.

Early Origins of the Hackett family

The surname Hackett was first found in County Kilkenny (Irish: Cill Chainnigh), the former Kingdom of Osraige (Ossory), located in Southeastern Ireland in the province of Leinster, where they had been granted lands by Strongbow for their assistance in the invasion of Ireland in 1172.

They were also granted lands in counties Carlow, Kildare and one branch moved into Connacht where "they formed a distinct if small sept which was known as MacHackett, their seat being Castle Hackett, six miles south-east of Tuam." 1

They were originally from Harcourt in Normandy and their name appears on the Honour Roll of the Battell Abbey as being present at the Battle of Hastings. "The Hackets of Niton on the Isle of Wight were descendants of Haket on the Battle Abbey Roll. The eventual heiress, Agnes, dau. of John Hackett, Esq. of Niton, m. John Lye, Esq., of Dorsetshire, and was mother of Anne Lye, wife of Sir James Woraley, constable of Carisbrook Castle." 2

"Dominus Paganus de Haket, another soldier at Hastings accompanied Henry II to Ireland where he acquired broad lands and seigneuries there; and his descendants, generation after generation, were parliamentary Barons, and potent Magnates in the sister kingdom. "2

Early History of the Hackett family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Hackett research. Another 54 words (4 lines of text) covering the years 1180, 1195, 1559, 1566, 1592, 1601, 1621, 1625, 1626, 1670, 1676, 1689 and 1706 are included under the topic Early Hackett History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Hackett Spelling Variations

During the lifetime of an individual person, his name was often spelt by church officials and medieval scribes the way it sounded. An examination of the many different origins of each name has revealed many spelling variations for the name: Hackett, Hackert, Hacket, Halkett and others.

Early Notables of the Hackett family

Notable amongst the family up to this time was

Peter Hackett, Archbishop of Cashell; John-Baptist Hackett (Hacket, Hacquet, Hecquet) (died 1676), Irish theologian born at Fethard, County Tipperary; and Humphrey Haggett (born 1601), an English poli...

Hackett World Ranking

In the United States, the name Hackett is the 1,689^th most popular surname with an estimated 17,409 people with that name. 3 However, in Newfoundland, Canada, the name Hackett is ranked the 569^th most popular surname with an estimated 80 people with that name. 4 And in Australia, the name Hackett is the 938^th popular surname with an estimated 4,217 people with that name. 5

Hackett migration to the United States +

Ireland's Great Potato Famine left the country's inhabitants in extreme poverty and starvation. Many families left their homeland for North America for the promise of work, freedom and land ownership. Although the Irish were not free of economic and racial discrimination in North America, they did contribute greatly to the rapid development of bridges, canals, roads, and railways. Eventually, they would be accepted in other areas such as commerce, education, and the arts. An examination of immigration and passenger lists revealed many bearing the name Hackett:

Hackett Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Thomas Hackett, who settled in Virginia in 1642
Henry Hackett, who landed in Virginia in 1651 6
Jane Hackett, who landed in Virginia in 1653 6
Tho Hackett, who arrived in Virginia in 1657 6
Williarn Hackett, who landed in Salisbury, Massachusetts in 1671 6
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Hackett Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

William Hackett, who landed in Virginia in 1701 6
Walter Hackett, who landed in Pennsylvania in 1728-1729 6

Hackett Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Richard Hackett, who arrived in New York in 1835 6
John Hackett, who arrived in Mississippi in 1840 6
J H Hackett, who arrived in San Francisco, California in 1850 6
W Hackett, who arrived in San Francisco, California in 1851 6
E W Hackett, who landed in San Francisco, California in 1851 6
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Hackett migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Hackett Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century

John Hackett, who landed in Nova Scotia in 1750

Hackett Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century

Alexander Hackett, who arrived in Nova Scotia in 1823
Mary Hackett, aged 20, who arrived in Saint John, New Brunswick in 1834 aboard the schooner "Sarah" from Belfast, Ireland

Hackett migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Hackett Settlers in Australia in the 18th Century

Mr. Thomas Hackett, English convict who was convicted in Kent, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Barwell" in September 1797, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 7

Hackett Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Charles Hackett, English convict from Surrey, who was transported aboard the "Albion" on May 17, 1823, settling in Van Diemen's Land, Australia 8
Mr. Henry Hackett, (b. 1819), aged 22, English frame work knitter who was convicted in Leicestershire, England for 10 years for burglary, transported aboard the "David Clarke" on 3rd June 1841, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land), he died in 1847 9
Mr. Benjamin Hackett, British Convict who was convicted in Salford, Greater Manchester, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Eden" on 12th March 1842, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Island) 10
Martin Hackett, aged 27, a policeman, who arrived in South Australia in 1849 aboard the ship "Emily" 11
Elizabeth Hackett, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Asiatic" in 1849 12
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Hackett migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

Hackett Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Edward Hackett, who landed in Wanganui, New Zealand in 1840
Michael Hackett, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Gipsy" in 1854
Mr. Michael Hackett, British settler travelling from London aboard the ship "Gipsey" arriving in Auckland, New Zealand on 25th October 1854 13
James Hackett, who arrived in Nelson, New Zealand aboard the ship "Queen of the Avon" in 1859
Mr. Hackett, British settler travelling from London aboard the ship "Evening Star" arriving in Lyttelton, Canterbury, New Zealand on 13th April 1863 13
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Hackett migration to West Indies +

The British first settled the British West Indies around 1604. They made many attempts but failed in some to establish settlements on the Islands including Saint Lucia and Grenada. By 1627 they had managed to establish settlements on St. Kitts (St. Christopher) and Barbados, but by 1641 the Spanish had moved in and destroyed some of these including those at Providence Island. The British continued to expand the settlements including setting the First Federation in the British West Indies by 1674; some of the islands include Barbados, Bermuda, Cayman Island, Turks and Caicos, Jamaica and Belize then known as British Honduras. By the 1960's many of the islands became independent after the West Indies Federation which existed from 1958 to 1962 failed due to internal political conflicts. After this a number of Eastern Caribbean islands formed a free association. 14

Hackett Settlers in West Indies in the 17th Century

William Hackett, who settled in Barbados in 1680

Contemporary Notables of the name Hackett (post 1700) +

Buddy Hackett (1924-2003), born Leonard Hacker, American comedian, actor, author and composer, best remembered for his roles as Marcellus Washburn in The Music Man (1962), Benjy Benjamin in It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963), Tennessee Steinmetz in The Love Bug (1968), and the voice of Scuttle in The Little Mermaid (1989).
Grant Hackett OAM (b. 1980), Australian swimming champion, thirty-eight time gold medalist, one of the greatest distance swimmers in history.
Walter Hackett (1876-1944), born Walter Laurence Hackett, an American playwright and theater manager from Oakland, California, known for The White Sister (1909), It Pays to Advertise (1914), Ambrose Applejohn's Adventure and many more
Nelson Hackett (b. 8201), escaped slave who was extradited to the United States after having fled to Canada, using a horse he took six weeks to cross the border into Canada
Steven C. Hackett (b. 1960), American economist, and Professor Emeritus of Economics at Cal Poly Humboldt
William D. Hackett (1918-1999), American mountaineer
Oliver Cromwell Hackett (b. 1822), American pioneer from Kentucky who joined the California Gold Rush
Lieutenant Colonel Paul Lewis Hackett III (b. 1963), is an American lawyer and veteran
Paul Roger Hackett (b. 1947), former American football coach spanning from (1969-2010)
Peter Hackett (1763-1828), American frontiersman
... (Another 60 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

The Hackett Motto +

The motto was originally a war cry or slogan. Mottoes first began to be shown with arms in the 14th and 15th centuries, but were not in general use until the 17th century. Thus the oldest coats of arms generally do not include a motto. Mottoes seldom form part of the grant of arms: Under most heraldic authorities, a motto is an optional component of the coat of arms, and can be added to or changed at will; many families have chosen not to display a motto.

Motto: Spes mea Deus
Motto Translation: God is my hope.

Citations +

MacLysaght, Edward, Irish Families Their Names, Arms and Origins 4th Edition. Dublin: Irish Academic, 1982. Print. (ISBN 0-7165-2364-7)
Burke, John Bernard, The Roll of Battle Abbey. London: Edward Churton, 26, Holles Street, 1848, Print.
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
The order of Common Surnames in 1955 in Newfoundland retrieved on 20th October 2021 (retrieved from Family Names of the Island of Newfoundland by E.R. Seary corrected edition ISBN 0-7735-1782-0)
"Most Common Last Names in Australia." Forebears, https://forebears.io/australia/surnames
Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 29th September 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/barwell
State Library of Queensland. (Retrieved 2016, October 27) Albion voyage to Van Diemen's Land, Australia in 1823 with 200 passengers. Retrieved from http://www.convictrecords.com.au/ships/albion/1823
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 3rd June 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/david-clarke
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 15th December 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/eden
State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) The EMILY 1849. Retrieved from http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1849Emily.htm
State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) The ASIATIC 1849. Retrieved from http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1849Asiatic.htm
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 17th October 2018). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies