Arlott Family History
Arlott Name Meaning
from Old French herlot harlot arlot ‘rascal scoundrel vagrant’ hence Middle English harlot harlet herlot ‘vagabond beggar idle rogue’. It was used by Chaucer both as a term of derision (‘ye false harlot’) and also ironically for a good fellow (‘he was a gentil harlot and a kynde’). In the 14th century it came to denote also an itinerant jester buffoon or juggler also a male servant attendant or menial. The sense ‘female prostitute’ is not recorded before the 15th century so Muriel Arlot and Matilda le Harlot probably bear their husbands' surnames.possibly from the Old French personal name Arlot a pet form of Arlaud a French version of the Continental Germanic personal name Arlwald (of which the second element is *wald- ‘rule’). However there is no certain evidence that this personal name was ever used in medieval England. see Arlett .
Source: The Oxford Dictionary of Family Names in Britain and Ireland, 2016
