Butler (surname)
Butler is a surname that has been associated with many different places and people. It can be either:
- an English occupational name that originally denoted a servant in charge of the wine cellar, from the Norman French word butuiller.[1] It eventually came to be used to describe a servant of high responsibility in a noble household, mostly leaving behind its association with the supply of wine.[1]
- in Ireland, a noble family and dynasty[2]
- a German surname, originating in Prussia before the 11th century, that gained notoriety in the High Middle Ages.
- an Anglicisation of the French surname Boutilier, Bouthillier,[1][2] a cognate of the English name.
The surname “Butler” was originated in the 12th century by Theobald le Botiller FitzWalter (Lord of Preston). Lord FitzWalter accompanied King John to Ireland to help secure Norman areas. When men whom Walter led killed Dermot MacCarthy, prince of Desmond, Walter was granted land holdings of Baggotrath, County Dublin, and the Stein River lands around what is now Trinity College Dublin. He was also given an important fief, on which Walter both founded an abbey and established his Irish seat. Upon returning to England, King John endowed Walter with the hereditary office "Butler to the Lord of Ireland" in 1177; some evidence indicates that he was also dubbed "Butler of Ireland". As such, he had the right to pour the King's wine. This title can be defined as Governor by today's standards. His son, Theobalde Butler, was the first to hold the name and pass it to his descendants. Walter's grandson was James Butler, 1st Earl of Ormonde.[3] Kilkenny Castle was the main seat of the Butler family.
Notable people with the surname Butler
- Alban Butler, English Catholic priest, author of Butler's Lives of the Saints
- Amir Butler, British-Australian writer on Islam
- Andrew Butler (disambiguation)
- Arthur Butler (disambiguation)
- Austin Butler, star on Zoey 101 and iCarly
- Benjamin Butler (disambiguation)
- Bernard Butler, English musician, of McAlmont and Butler
- Bill Butler (disambiguation)
- Blair Butler, American comedy writer/comedienne
- Brenda Butler, British UFOlogist
- Brett Butler (disambiguation)
- Brittany Butler, competed on The Voice season 7
- Bryon Butler, English sports writer and broadcaster
- Caron Butler, American basketball player
- Chad Butler, drummer
- Charles Butler (disambiguation)
- Charlie Butler-Henderson, British motor racing driver
- Cher Butler, American model and actress
- Christine Butler, British politician
- Christopher Butler, English Catholic bishop
- Chris Butler (disambiguation)
- Clifford Charles Butler, English physicist, co-discoverer of hyperons and K-mesons
- Dan Butler, American actor
- Dean Butler, Canadian/American actor
- Da'Sean Butler (born 1988), American basketball player
- David Butler (disambiguation)
- Dawn Butler, British politician
- Daws Butler, American voice actor
- Dennis Butler, former football manager
- Dori Hillestad Butler, author of The Truth about Truman School and other children's books
- Duane Butler, American football player
- Eddie Butler (baseball), American baseball player
- Edward Butler (disambiguation)
- Ellis Parker Butler, American writer
- Eleanor Butler (disambiguation)
- Lady Eileen Gwladys Butler, later Eileen Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, Duchess of Sutherland
- Elizabeth Beardsley Butler, American surveyor of social conditions
- Elizabeth Butler-Sloss, English judge
- Elizabeth Thompson, Lady Butler, English artist
- Faykan Butler, fictional character from the Dune universe
- Francis Butler, American writer and dog-trainer
- Frank Butler (disambiguation)
- Geezer Butler, English musician, bass guitar player in Black Sabbath
- George Butler (disambiguation)
- Gerard Butler, Scottish actor
- Guy Butler (disambiguation)
- Gwendoline Butler (1922–2013), English writer
- Harry Butler, Australian naturalist
- Henry Butler, American jazz pianist
- Henry Montagu Butler (1833–1918), English academic
- Hubert Butler, Irish essayist
- Hugo Butler, Canadian screenwriter
- Jack Butler (disambiguation)
- James Butler (disambiguation), includes Jim Butler and Jimmy Butler
- Jerry Butler (disambiguation)
- John Butler (disambiguation)
- Jonathan Butler, South African singer-songwriter
- Joseph Butler (disambiguation)
- Josephine Butler, English activist of the Victorian era
- Judith Butler, American feminist philosopher and queer theorist
- Kevin Butler (disambiguation)
- Larry Butler (producer), American country music producer
- Larry Butler (darts player), American darts player
- LaVerne Butler (1926–2010), Kentucky clergyman and college president
- Lee Pierce Butler, American academic and librarian
- LeRoy Butler, American football player
- Louis B. Butler, American judge
- Malcolm Butler (American football) (born 1990), American football player
- Malcolm Butler (footballer) (1913–1987), Irish footballer
- Manley Caldwell Butler (born 1925), U.S. Representative from Virginia
- Marcus Butler, British vlogger
- Mario Butler, Panamanian basketball player
- Marion Butler, American politician
- Matthew Butler, American Confederate general
- Michael Butler (disambiguation)
- Mildred Anne Butler (1858–1941), Irish artist
- Sir Milo Butler, first Bahamian-born and first Black Governor-General of The Bahamas
- Mitchell Butler (b. 1970), American sports agent and former basketball player
- Montagu C. Butler, Esperantist, for whom the Montagu Butler Library is named
- Nicholas M. Butler, American academic administrator and politician
- Norman 3X Butler, convicted for the killing of Malcolm X
- Octavia E. Butler, American science fiction writer
- Ovid Butler, American abolitionist for whom Butler University is named
- Paul Butler (disambiguation)
- Pierce Butler (disambiguation)
- Ralph Butler, British lyricist
- Rasual Butler, American basketball player
- Reg Butler, English sculptor
- Rhett Butler, fictional character from Gone with the Wind
- Rich Butler, Canadian baseball player
- Richard Butler (disambiguation)
- Robert Butler (disambiguation)
- Robin Butler, British civil servant
- Samuel Butler (disambiguation)
- Serena Butler, fictional character from the Dune universe
- Shay Butler, YouTube personality and vlogger
- Smedley Butler, Maj. Gen. Smedley Butler, USMC, son of Thomas S. Butler
- Stan Butler from On The Buses played by Reg Varney
- Steve Butler, American racing driver
- Terry Butler, American musician
- Theobald Butler, 2nd Baron Butler, otherwise known as Theobald le Botiller
- Theobald Butler, 1st Baron Butler, 1st Chief Butler of Ireland, father of Theobald le Botiller
- Thomas Butler (disambiguation)
- Todd Butler, American college baseball coach
- Tom Butler (disambiguation)
- Tony Butler (disambiguation)
- Torrey Butler, American basketball player
- Tubal Uriah Butler, Grenadian labour leader in Trinidad and Tobago
- Vicki Butler-Henderson, English racing driver
- W. E. Butler, British occultist
- Walter Butler (disambiguation)
- Wanda Nero Butler (born 1958), American gospel musician
- Win Butler, American musician
- William Butler (disambiguation)
- Yancy Butler, American actress
As family name of the Earl of Ormonde:
- James Butler, 1st Earl of Ormonde (c. 1305 – 1337)
- James Butler, 2nd Earl of Ormonde (died 1382)
- James Butler, 3rd Earl of Ormonde (died 1405)
- James Butler, 4th Earl of Ormonde (died 1452)
- James Butler, 5th Earl of Ormonde (1421–1462)
- John Butler, 6th Earl of Ormonde (died 1478)
- Thomas Butler, 7th Earl of Ormonde (died 1515)
- Piers Butler, 8th Earl of Ormonde (died 1539)(also 1st Earl of Ossory)
- James Butler, 9th Earl of Ormonde (died 1546)
- Thomas Butler, 10th Earl of Ormonde (died 1614)
- Walter Butler, 11th Earl of Ormonde (died 1632)
- James Butler, 1st Duke of Ormonde and 12th Earl of Ormonde (1610–1688) created Duke in 1661
- James Butler, 2nd Duke of Ormonde and 13th Earl of Ormonde (1665–1745)
- Charles Butler, 3rd Duke of Ormonde and 14th Earl of Ormonde (died 1758)
- John Butler, 15th Earl of Ormonde (died 1766)
- Walter Butler, 16th Earl of Ormonde (1703–1783)
- John Butler, 17th Earl of Ormonde (1740–1795)
- Walter Butler, 18th Earl of Ormonde (1770–1820) created Marquess of Ormonde (Ireland) in 1816
- James Wandesford Butler, 19th Earl of Ormonde (1777–1838) created Marquess of Ormonde (UK) in 1825)
- John Butler, 2nd Marquess of Ormonde and 20th Earl of Ormonde (1808–1854)
- James Edward William Theobald Butler, 3rd Marquess of Ormonde and 21st Earl of Ormonde (1844–1919)
- James Arthur Wellington Foley Butler, 4th Marquess of Ormonde and 22nd Earl of Ormonde (1849–1943)
- James George Anson Butler, 5th Marquess of Ormonde and 23rd Earl of Ormonde (1890–1949)
- James Arthur Norman Butler, 6th Marquess of Ormonde and 24th Earl of Ormonde (1893–1971)
- James Hubert Theobald Charles Butler, 7th Marquess of Ormonde and 25th Earl of Ormonde (1899–1997) (his presumed successors in the Earldoms of Ormonde and Ossory have been the 17th and 18th Viscount Mountgarret, descending in the male line from a younger son of the 8th Earl, but the claim has not been proven)
Also:
- Richard Butler, 1st Viscount Mountgarret (1500–1571)
- Edmund Butler, 2nd Viscount Mountgarret (died 1602)
- Richard Butler, 3rd Viscount Mountgarret (1578–1651)
- Edmund Butler, 4th Viscount Mountgarret (1595–1679)
- Richard Butler, 5th Viscount Mountgarret (died 1706)
- Edmund Butler, 6th Viscount Mountgarret (1663–1735)
- Richard Butler, 7th Viscount Mountgarret (1685–1736)
- James Butler, 8th Viscount Mountgarret (1686–1749)
- Edmund Butler, 9th Viscount Mountgarret (1687–1751)
- Edmund Butler, 10th Viscount Mountgarret (died 1779)
- Edmund Butler, 11th Viscount Mountgarret (1745–1793)
- Edmund Butler, 1st Earl of Kilkenny, 12th Viscount Mountgarret (1771–1846)
- Henry Edmund Butler, 13th Viscount Mountgarret (1816–1900)
- Henry Edmund Butler, 14th Viscount Mountgarret (1844–1912)
- Edmund Somerset Butler, 15th Viscount Mountgarret (1875–1918)
- Piers Henry Augustine Butler, 16th Viscount Mountgarret (1903–1966)
- Richard Henry Piers Butler, 17th Viscount Mountgarret (1936–2004)
- Piers James Richard Butler, 18th Viscount Mountgarret (born 1961)
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "Butler Name Meaning and History", The Butler Surname (Ancestry.com), archived from the original on 12 June 2011, retrieved 31 August 2011,
(origin of information) Dictionary of American Family Names, Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-508137-4
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Kimberly Powell (ed.), "Butler surname origin", About.com: Genealogy (About.com), archived from the original on 24 July 2011, retrieved 31 August 2011
- ↑ "Butler", Encyclopædia Britannica, 1911 edition. Available online. Also see The Carey Estate BCM/H [n.d.], Berkeley Castle Muniments, U.K. National Archives, available online. Archived by WebCite.; National Archive Record MS 613, f. 21; National Archive Record MS 613, f. 30.
See also
- Butler (disambiguation)
- Lambert & Butler, cigarette brand
- Butler Act
- Butler Party
- Butler Review