Origin of Cackett

This interesting and unusual name is of Anglo-Saxon origin, and is a variant of the locational surname frequently found as "Caldicott". The name derives from any of the numerous places, in Bedfordshire, Berkshire, Cambridgeshire, Cheshire, Northamptonshire and Warwickshire, for example, which are mostly called "Caldecote", and are named from the Old English pre 7th Century elements "ceald, cald", cold, and "cot", cottage, hut, dwelling. The original meaning of the term is thought to have been an unattended shelter for travellers, or perhaps for shepherds and herdsmen, but by the 11th Century many of the places so called had developed into small hamlets and villages, and were recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086.

Among the many variant forms of "Caldicott" are those of Cawcut, Corcut, Corkett, Corkitt and Cackett. One "John Cakot or Cawcott" is recorded in Kent in 1613, showing the derivation clearly. The christening of Arthur Cackett was recorded at Strood, near Rochester, Kent, on March 27th 1579. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Simon de Caldecot, which was dated 1195, The Cambridgeshire Pipe Rolls, during the reign of King Richard 1, "The Lionheart", 1189 - 1199. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.