Question:

Origins of McCracken and Hoyt?

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These are two predominant surnames in my mother's family tree, I was wondering the direct origins of the names.

McCracken is obviously Irish... or Scottish?

Hoyt I'm not sure of at all.

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  1. These are the suggested origins of the names, not necessarily the origin of your mother's ancestry.

    Surname: Hoyt

    Recorded in many spellings as shown below, this is an English medieval surname. It is topographical for a person who lived at the top of the hill or on a piece of raised ground, originating from the Olde English pre 7th century word hiehthu, from "heah", meaning high. Topographical surnames were among the earliest created, since both natural and man made features in the landscape provided easily recognisable distinguishing names. The surname development since 1275 (see below) includes the following: Robert atte Heyte of Oxfordshire in 1279, Jana Hayght of Yorkshire in 1548, Elizabeth Haight of London in 1602, and Martin Hoyte who married Tripossa Witford at St Georges Chapel, Mayfair, on April 1st 1751. The modern surname spellings include Hate, Height, Hight, Hite, Hoyt, Hoyte, Hyght and others. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Henry de la Heyt. This was dated 1275, in the Hundred Rolls of Derbyshire, during the reign of King Edward 1st of England, known as "The Hammer of the Scots", 1272 - 1307.

    Surname: Mccracken

    Recorded in several spellings as shown below, this a medieval Scottish surname. It originates from an old Galloway surname MacNeachtain, which owing to dialectual processes in Ulster became MacReachtain (the interchange of the initial 'n' and 'r' is characteristic of Ulster. The name now exists as MacCrackan, MacCracken, MacCrachen and MacCraken - and the sort forms commencing Mc, are owing to further dialectual transpositions. The personal name Naughton means the god of water and sea in Gaelic mythology, an some of the clan migrated from Scotland to Antrim, Northern Ireland in the 14th century. The coat of arms most associated with this sept has the blazon of a black shield, chared with an escutcheon chequy in silver and blue, between three lion's heads erased of the second. The crest is a lion's head, with the motto: Omnia fortunae committo translating as "I commit all things to fortune". The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Donald MacNachtane, the dean of Dunkeld, and dated 1431, in the Papal Registers of Great Britian and Ireland, during the reign of King James 1st of Scotland, 1406 - 1437.


  2. This is what www.ancestry.com has to say about both names.

    McCracken Name Meaning and History

    Northern Irish and Scottish (Galloway): Anglicized form of Gaelic Mac Reachtain, Ulster variant of Mac Neachtain (see McNaughton), with the replacement of n by r in the cluster cn that is characteristic of Ulster Irish.

    Hoyt Name Meaning and History

    English: nickname for a tall, thin person, from Middle English hoit ‘long stick’.

    Hope this helps.

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