This ancient and noble name is of Old French origin, and is a variant of Trippett, which originated as a nickname for someone with a reputation for playing unpleasant tricks on people, from the Old French "tripot", Middle English "tripet, trepett", an evil scheme. The original surname is first recorded in the early 13th Century (see below), while one Sir Thomas Trivet was one of the Justices of King Edward 1 (1272 - 1307), and Sir William Trivet was "a person of some account in the court of Edward 11". Chilton-Trivet, a place located a mile west of Bridgwater in Somerset, belonged to the family, who were also situated at Durborough until approximately 1447. Sir Thomas Trivet was one of King Richard 11's unworthy favourites, against whom the confederate lords rose in insurrection in 1387. Other early examples of the surname include the christening of Alexander, son of William and Agnes Trivett, on April 9th 1569, at Axminster in Devonshire, and the marriage of Joan Trivet and John Bearde on January 30th 1579, at St. Peter the Great, Chichester in Sussex. A Coat of Arms granted to a family of the name at Bradwell, in Suffolk, depicts a silver shield with a black chevron between three black trevets, and a Crest showing an eagle rising proper. The Motto is "Salvus in igne", (Safe in fire). The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Ralph Tripet, which was dated 1204, in the "Curia Regis Rolls of Bedfordshire", during the reign of King John, known as "Lackland", 1199 - 1216. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.

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