Pilat is a common

surname In some cultures, a surname, family name, or last name is the portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family, tribe or community. Practices vary by culture. The family name may be placed at either the start of a person's full name ...

Central Europe Central Europe is an area of Europe between Western Europe and Eastern Europe, based on a common historical, social and cultural identity. The Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) between Catholicism and Protestantism significantly shaped the area' ...

. It is spelled simply ''Pilat'' in Western countries such as France and Austria, ''Pilát'' in Czech and Slovak, and ''Piłat'' in

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken *Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin screenwr ...

. This may refer to individuals bearing the last name or the name itself. The Southeast corner of Poland appears to be an ancestral heartland, with

Lublin Lublin is the ninth-largest city in Poland and the second-largest city of historical Lesser Poland. It is the capital and the center of Lublin Voivodeship with a population of 336,339 (December 2021). Lublin is the largest Polish city east of t ...

boasting a large number of the nearly 6,879 Poles sharing the surname. There are two different Piłatka localities in the Mazowsze and

regions. It is also the name of a natural park near

Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of t ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

Origin

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

: from the

Saxon The Saxons ( la, Saxones, german: Sachsen, ang, Seaxan, osx, Sahson, nds, Sassen, nl, Saksen) were a group of Germanic * * * * peoples whose name was given in the early Middle Ages to a large country (Old Saxony, la, Saxonia) near the Nor ...

word for 'strong sword', or bilihart. (Bihel = sword or ax.) *

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

habitational name In some cultures, a surname, family name, or last name is the portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family, tribe or community. Practices vary by culture. The family name may be placed at either the start of a person's full name, ...

from Pilat in

Gironde Gironde ( US usually, , ; oc, Gironda, ) is the largest department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region of Southwestern France. Named after the Gironde estuary, a major waterway, its prefecture is Bordeaux. In 2019, it had a population of 1,62 ...

, The Great Dune of Pyla in

on the Atlantic coast, and

Mont Pilat Mont Pilat or the Pilat massif is a mountainous area in the east of the Massif Central of France. Name The origin of the name "Pilat" is uncertain. The word may have a Latin origin (''Mons Pileatus''). Another legend says that the body of Pontiu ...

Loire The Loire (, also ; ; oc, Léger, ; la, Liger) is the longest river in France and the 171st longest in the world. With a length of , it drains , more than a fifth of France's land, while its average discharge is only half that of the Rhône ...

. The name is believed to be derived by one of two tribes of Celtic peoples - the Séguisaves and Allobroges in whose language ''Pi-'' = mount and ''-lat'' = broad. * Italian: in ancient

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

, a ''pilum'' was a throwing spear carried by the

legionnaires The French Foreign Legion (french: Légion étrangère) is a corps of the French Army which comprises several specialties: infantry, cavalry, engineers, airborne troops. It was created in 1831 to allow foreign nationals into the French Army. It ...

. Another theory of

Pontius Pilate Pontius Pilate (; grc-gre, Πόντιος Πιλᾶτος, ) was the fifth governor of the Roman province of Judaea, serving under Emperor Tiberius from 26/27 to 36/37 AD. He is best known for being the official who presided over the trial of J ...

's origin is that he belonged to the Equestrian class of people. * Slavic (Czech, Slovak and Polish): an individual acting/portraying the character of

, particularly in a Passion play. A popular misconception is that, spelling differences aside, the historical figure of Pontius Pilate is somehow the progenitor of this last name. In actuality, he hailed from a Roman tribe properly called the ''Pontii?''Last Name Meaning and Origin of Pilat, website
accessed 22 August 2007.

Derivations

* Pilate * Pilati * Pilatz " Bucket shops" purporting to sell Pilat 'family coats of arms' (a fallacy in terms) often draw spurious connections to those escutcheons (and histories) properly belonging to the counts Pielat, Pilati or Pillot of

the Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

and

, respectively.

Persons with the surname Pilat

Albert Pilát Albert Pilát (November 2, 1903 – May 29, 1974) was a Czech botanist and mycologist. He studied at the Faculty of Science at Charles University, under the guidance of Professor Josef Velenovský. In 1930, he joined the National Museum, eventuall ...

(1903-1974), a Czech botanist and mycologist *

Corrado Pilat Corrado Pilat (born 24 September 1974 in Belluno) is a former Italian international rugby union player and a current coach. He played as a fullback and as a fly-half. He played professionally for Benetton Treviso, from 1998/99 to 200/01, where he ...

is an Italian rugby union player. *

Ignaz Anton Pilat Ignaz is a male given name, related to the name Ignatius. Notable people with this name include: * Franz Ignaz Beck (1734–1807), German musician * Heinrich Ignaz Franz Biber (1644–1704), Bohemian-Austrian musician * Ignaz Brüll (1846–1907), ...

was the landscape architect for Frederick Law Olmsted to Central Park and an Austrian émigré. *

Stanisław Piłat Stanisław Piłat (April 13, 1909 – May 10, 1993) was a Polish boxer who competed in the 1936 Summer Olympics. He was born and died in Nowy Targ Nowy Targ (Officially: ''Royal Free city of Nowy Targ'', Yiddish: ''Naymark'', Goral Dialec ...

head of the Institute of Technology of Petroleum and Natural Gases and patentholder at Lviv University, Ukraine who was killed by the Nazi secret police during World War II.

References

External links

Pilat National Park in Loire
{{Surname, Pilat Surnames