SPELLING THOMAS HARRIOT'S NAME

THE SPELLING OF THOMAS  HARRIOT'S SURNAME

During the European Renaissance, the spelling of common words and proper nouns was not yet regularized, so words were spelled variously, usually according to their pronunciation. Even the names of such well-known figures as William Shakespeare and Sir Walter Raleigh appear in documents of the time with many different spellings, with Shakespeare sometimes spelled as two words ("Shake-spur," "Shak-sper") and Raleigh spelled in almost every way imaginable--"Rawley," "Ralegh," "Raley"--except for the way it is conventionally spelled today! Today's spellings of such names represent rather arbitrary decisions made in the last few centuries.

Thus, Thomas Harriot's surname was spelled in several ways during his own lifetime--Hariet, Hariot, Heriot, Harriott, and even Harriotts. It is interesting to note that, unlike his contemporaries Shakespeare and Raleigh, his surname continues to be spelled in one of two ways even today, with many scholars opting for "Harriot" while other prefer "Hariot."