DART Family History

Recorded as Dart, Darte, Darthe, Death, Dearth and possibly others, this is an English surname of two possible origins. The most likely is French as shown below, but recent research has also strongly indicated an English source which may have been "overlooked" in the past possibly because of its rather mordid conclusions. We believe that for many name holders it is of early medieval English origin, and one of a sizeable group of modern surnames that were created from a theatrical nickname. In this case it was for a person who played the part of a figurative representation of "Death" in the popular medieval mystery plays.