A German surname, Arendt comes from the Old High German terms of ‘arn’ and ‘wald’ (like the surname Arndt) which refers to an eagle that rules. Variations in spelling include for Arendt include Arnout, Ahrrens, Arnould, Arlett, Arnaiz, Arents, Erni and Harnett. In the Bavaria section of Germany and Austria is where the early Arendt families started. In England the Yorkshire, Middlesex, Surrey counties and the city of London had the vast majority of Arendt individuals. In Scotland primarily the county of Aberdeenshire had Arendt families. Within the United States the first Arendt families settled in Pennsylvania and later into New York. By the 20th century the Arendt families were mostly in Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan, Ohio, New Jersey, Iowa and California. Famous: Gisela Arendt (an Olympic swimmer for Germany), Nicole Arendt (a professional tennis player) and Hannah Arendt (a renown philospher).