Barnett Family Crest, Coat of Arms & Barnett Name Origin

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Origin of the Name Barnett

The ancient history of the name Barnett was found in the allfamilycrests.com archives. Meaning 'the son of Bernard', Barnett is a baptismal name brought to England by the Normans and immediately following the conquest became very popular by virtue of being borne by Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, 1090-1153, founder and Abbot of the Cistercian Monastery at Clairvaux. Variants include Bernard, Barnard, Bernadine, Barnet and Benard. This name is of Anglo-Norman descent spreading to Ireland, Scotland and Wales in early times and is found in many mediaeval manuscripts in the these countries. Examples of such are a William filius Bernardi who was recorded in the 'Hundred Rolls', England, in the year 1273 and an Abel Bernarde, County Oxfordshire, who was registered in the University of Oxford, in the year 1581. In Ireland the Irish philanthropist, Doctor Thomas Barnardo, 1845-1905, founded the orphanages that still bear his name. In Scotland the Bernardes trace their descent back to John Bernardes Corea, 1778.