Origin of the Hieatt Name

The following is taken from a typewritten account, in my possesion.

"Hiatt, the name was originally spelt "Hieatte", the family originated from the Celts or Druids of Scotland, who were worshippers of the sun and of fire as his symbol, and being persecuted by the Catholics were driven in the 6th Century to what is now Wales.  A trace of the customs still exists in bonfires on May day and Hallow-eve.  From the sixth to the 13th century the despotic policy of Brittain toward Wales kept Welch history entirely obscure.

"The Welsh language is merely a dialect of the unbroken Irish Celtic."

Additional information was gathered from Bill Hyatt, and can be found on his web site at http://www.knowitnow.com/online/page8.html

What does the name Hyatt, Hiatt mean?

Hyatt - English, appears to mean dweller at the high gate or gap in a hill. Or the Scotish variation of Highet, habitation name probably from Highgate in the former county of Ayrs (now a part of Strathclyde Region), so called from OE heah + geat Gate... vars... Hyett, Hyatt.

Jewish - Hyatt, Highet, Hayat, Hyat = Chait (Jewish) (Ashkenazic) occupational name for a tailor.

Also from the website: http://www.houseofnames.com/xq/asp.fc/qx/hieatt-family-crest.htm

The lineage of the name Hieatt begins with the Anglo-Saxon tribes in Britain. It is a result of when they lived in the village of Ayott in the county of Hertfordshire. The surname Hieatt can be translated as at the high-gate, a gate that led into a protected enclosure.

Spelling variations of this family name include: Hyatt, Huyet, Hyett, Hyat, Hyet, Hytte and others.

First found in Hertfordshire where they were seated from very ancient times, some say well before the Norman Conquest and the arrival of Duke William at Hastings in 1066 A.D.

From A Dictionary of English & Welsh Surnames (Page 411)

Source Information:
Ancestry.com. English and Welsh Surname Dictionary [database online]. Provo, Utah: MyFamily.com, Inc., 2003. Original data: Bardsley, Charles Wareing. A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames With Special American Instances. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing, 1967. Originally published London, 1901.