This surname, with variant spellings Miatt, Miot and Myatt, derives from the Medieval given name Myot, itself a pet form of Myhel or Mihel, vernacular forms of Michael, from the Hebrew "Micha-el" meaning "Who is like God?" "Ot(t)" and "at(t)" are diminutive suffixes. In Christian tradition, Michael was regarded as the warrior archangel, consequently of Evil, and the given name was consequently popular throughout Europe, especially in knightly and military families. The surname is particularly well recorded in church registers of London and the West Midlands from the mid 17th Century, (see below). On September 11th 1691, Ann Myott and William Ossin were married in Lower Mitton, Worcestershire, and on August 14th 1727, Ann Myott married a John Rowlinson in Holy Trinity, Coventry, Warwickshire. Alice Miatt and Thomas Done were married in Market Drayton, Shropshire, on April 4th 1782. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Richard Myatt, (marriage to Sara Speede), which was dated May 4th 1647, St. Margaret's, Westminster, London, during the reign of King Charles 1, "The Martyr", 1625 - 1649. 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.