Corbett is an English-language surname. It is derived from the Anglo-Norman French, Middle English, and Old French corbet, which is a diminutive of corb, meaning " raven". The surname probably originated from a nickname referring to someone with dark hair or a dark complexion like a raven's. [1] [2] The surname was brought to England from Normandy, [2] and spread to Scotland in the 12th century, [2] [3] and into northern Ireland in the 17th century. [2] Early instances of the name are Corbet in Shropshire, recorded in Domesday Book in 1086; Corbet in Shropshire, recorded in the Assize Rolls of Worcestershire in 1158; and le Corbet in Oxfordshire, recorded in the Eynsham Cartulary in 1323. Variations of the surname include: Corbet, and Corbitt. [1] Corbett is sometimes an Anglicised form of the Irish surnames Ó Corbáin and Ó Coirbín, which mean "descendant of Corbán" and "descendant of Coirbín", respectively. [4]
Names borne by several Corbetts
- Jim Corbett (including James Corbett)
- John Corbett (disambiguation)
- Michael Corbett
- William Corbett
- Uvedale Corbett (disambiguation)
In politics
- Albert H. C. Corbett (1887–1983), politician in Manitoba, Canada
- Alfred H. Corbett (1915–2000), politician in Oregon, United States
- Archibald Corbett, 1st Baron Rowallan (1856–1933), Scottish Liberal politician
- Arthur Corbett, 3rd Baron Rowallan (1919–1993), British aristocrat most notable for successfully having his second marriage annulled in 1970
- Henry W. Corbett (1827–1903), 3rd United States senator from Oregon
- Irvine Finlay Corbett (1915–1986), politician in British Columbia, Canada
- Jerry Corbett (1917–1997), Illinois state representative
- John Corbett (industrialist) (1817–1901), English industrialist, politician and philanthropist
- James Corbett (politician) (1906–2005), Australian Country Party politician
- James A. Corbett (1933–2001), American rancher, writer, and human rights activist
- Jim Corbett (politician) (1924–2007), U.S. politician
- Lawrence E. Corbett Jr. (1921–2020), American politician from New York
- Lawrence W. Corbett (1859–1897), American politician from Virginia
- Moses Corbet, major (1728–1814), lieutenant governor of Jersey from 4 Apr 1771 to 1781
- Panton Corbett (1785–1855), English politician
- Richard Corbett (born 1955), member of the European Parliament for the Labour Party for Yorkshire and the Humber
- Robert Corbett (born 1938), politician in New Brunswick, Canada
- Robin Corbett, Baron Corbett of Castle Vale (1933–2012), Labour member of parliament for Birmingham, Erdington
- Ron Corbett (born 1960), mayor of Cedar Rapids, Iowa
- Thomas Corbett, 2nd Baron Rowallan (1895–1977), Bronze Wolf awardee
- Tom Corbett (born 1949), 46th governor of Pennsylvania
In sport
- Arch Corbett (1883–1920), Australian rules footballer
- Austin Corbett, American football player
- Claude Corbett, Australian sports journalist
- Doug Corbett (born 1952), American baseball pitcher
- Dick Corbett, English boxer
- Fred Corbett, English footballer who played in the late 19th and early 20th century
- Gene Corbett, major league first baseman from 1936 to 1938
- Harold Corbett, Australian rugby league footballer
- Harry Corbett, English professional boxer
- James J. Corbett, heavyweight boxing champion
- Joe Corbett, major league starting pitcher who played in the National League
- John Corbett (coach), American football player and college sports coach
- Leo Corbett, Australian footballer
- Marius Corbett, South African javelin thrower
- Mike Corbett (ice hockey, born 1942), professional hockey player
- Mike Corbett (ice hockey, born 1972)
- Norman Corbett, Scottish footballer
- Willie Corbett, Scottish footballer
- Young Corbett III, the world welterweight boxing champion
- Steve Corbett, American football Offensive Guard
In literature
- Edward P. J. Corbett, author
- The Misses Corbett, Grace ( c. 1765/1770–1843) and Walterina (died 1837), Scottish poets and authors
- Maryann Corbett, American poet, medievalist, and linguist
- Sarah Corbett, British poet born 1970, received Eric Gregory Award 1997
- Scott Corbett children's author
- Steve Corbett, author of When Helping Hurts
In business
- Gerald Corbett (born 1951), head of Railtrack
- Henry L. Corbett (1881–1957), American businessman and politician, in Oregon
- Kevin Corbett (born 1955), American businessman, shipping and transportation, ED of NJTranist
- Roger Corbett (born 1942), Australian businessman, CEO of Woolworths Ltd 2001–2007
In television, film and fiction
- Ben Corbett (1892–1961), American actor
- Bill Corbett, playwright, television writer, screenwriter, and performer
- Daniel Corbett, British meteorologist
- Glenn Corbett, American actor
- Gretchen Corbett, American actress most noted for the role of "Beth Davenport" on the television series The Rockford Files
- Harry Corbett (1918–1989), British puppeteer
- Harry H. Corbett (1925–1982), British actor
- Jeremy Corbett, New Zealand comedian
- John Corbett (born 1961), American actor
- Kari Corbett, Scottish actress
- Matthew Corbett (born 1948), British television personality known for The Sooty Show
- Ronnie Corbett (1930–2016), Scottish comedian and actor
- Shaun Taylor-Corbett, American actor
- Susannah Corbett, English actress
- Tom Corbett, Space Cadet, the main character in a series of Tom Corbett — Space Cadet stories
- Winslow Corbett, American actress and the daughter of Rockford Files supporting player Gretchen Corbett
In the military
- Boston Corbett, the Union soldier who shot and mortally wounded Abraham Lincoln's assassin, John Wilkes Booth
- Elsie Cameron Corbett (1893 –1977), volunteer ambulance driver in World War I
- Frederick Corbett, English recipient of the Victoria Cross
- Julian Corbett, British naval historian and geostrategist of the late 19th and early 20th centuries
- Thomas Corbett, Indian Army officer
In geography
- John Rooke Corbett, mountaineer and compiler of list of peaks between 2500 and 3000 feet.
In other fields
- Edwin Corbett (1819–1888), British diplomat, envoy to several countries
- Greville G Corbett (born 1947), British linguist
- Jim Corbett (1875–1955), British hunter and naturalist in India
- James W. Corbett (1928–1994), American physicist
- Jonathan Corbett, British TV presenter, food commentator & buyer for Tesco
- Joseph Corbett Jr. (1928–2009), American former Fulbright scholar jailed for murder
- Liz Corbett English epidemiologist
- Margaret Darst Corbett (1889–1962), American vision educator
- Ned Corbett (1887–1964), Canadian adult educator and leader in the field.
- Sidney Corbett (born 1960), American composer based in Germany
- Ted Corbett (chemist) (1923–2018), New Zealand organic chemist
See also
References
- ^ a b Reaney, Percy Hilde (1995), Wilson, Richard Middlewood (ed.), A dictionary of English surnames (3rd ed.), Oxford University Press, p. 109, ISBN 0-19-863146-4.
- ^ a b c d Corbett Family History, Ancestry.com, retrieved 19 August 2012. This webpage cites Dictionary of American Family Names, Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-508137-4.
- ^ Black, George Fraser (1946), The surnames of Scotland: their origin, meaning, and history, New York Public Library, p. 170.
- ^ Corban Family History, Ancestry.com, retrieved 19 August 2012. This webpage cites Dictionary of American Family Names, Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-508137-4.
This page lists people with the
surname Corbett.
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