English
The surname 'Heart' originates from England. It is derived from the name 'Hart' a nickname for a 'stag', from the Middle English word 'hert', Old English word 'heorot', used for someone bearing some fancied resemblance to the animal. The Old English word became 'hurt' or 'hort' in some dialects of middle English, especially western dialects, and these forms are reflected in the variant's, but in the standard dialect it became 'hert' and later 'hart'. Compiled information from Historical and Private archive's has confirmed that the surname 'Hartmann' and or it's variant's, dates as far back as the thirteenth century were a 'John le Hert', from the county of Kent, England, is recorded on the Hundred Rolls in 1273. The exact period of settlement in North America has not been definitely determined but Information extracted from Public and Civil registry archive's confirm that one of the first settlers was a certain 'William Hart', aged 22, a labourer by trade, from the city of London, England, emigrated to North America in 1774. He sailed from the Port of London aboard the ship named the 'Chance' on the 2nd of January 1774, arriving in Jamaica on the 9th of January of the same year, to seek employment. Today, 'Hartmann' is the 'Nine hundred and ninety-fourth' most common surname in North America.