An English, Scottish and Irish surname, Petty comes from the Old French term ‘petit’ which meant something little and petite. The spelling variations for Petty include Petie, Pettey, Pettie, Pettis and Pety. In England the earliest Petty families lived in Warwickshire. From there many moved to Yorkshire, Lancashire, Hampshire and the city of London and other English locations. In Ireland the Petty family name started in County Kerry. In Scotland the Petty name is located primarily in Angus, Midlothian, Stirlingshire and Dumfries-shire counties. Within the United States those with the Petty family name first resided in New Jersey, New York, Virginia, North and South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee and Massachusetts. Famous: Dini Petty (television and radio host in Canada), Tom Petty (musician, singer and songwriter), Richard Petty (champion auto racer), W. Morgan Petty (writer of fiction from England), Lori Petty (actress), William Petty (17th century English founding member of The Royal Society and developer of fiscal and monetary theories), Norman Petty (songwriter, producer and musician) and Bruce Petty (cartoonist from Australia).