The name Everett has its origins in the Old English language, deriving from the words "eofor" meaning "boar" and "reed" meaning "clearing" or "meadow." This combination suggests that the name may have originally referred to a person who lived in a clearing where boars were found or hunted.

In its earliest forms, the name was spelled as "Effridu" or "Efridu" in the 8th century, gradually evolving into "Everard" and "Everett" over the following centuries. The name spread throughout England and parts of Europe during the Middle Ages.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Everett dates back to the Domesday Book of 1086, which documented landowners and tenants in England after the Norman Conquest. The entry mentions an individual named "Everardus" who held land in Gloucestershire.

Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Everett. One of the earliest was Everard, a 12th-century Benedictine monk and writer who authored a work entitled "The Life of St. Thomas Becket." Another was Edward Everett (1794-1865), an American statesman, orator, and educator who served as the 20th Governor of Massachusetts and the 15th United States Secretary of State.

In the realm of literature, Edward Everett Hale (1822-1909) was an American author and Unitarian minister best known for his short story "The Man Without a Country." Everett Shinn (1876-1953) was a renowned American Realist painter and member of the Ashcan School, known for his depictions of urban life in New York City.

More recently, Everett M. Dirksen (1896-1969) was an American politician who served as a Republican U.S. Senator from Illinois and played a key role in the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Everett McGill (born 1945) is an American actor known for his roles in films such as "Silver Bullet," "Twister," and "The People Under the Stairs."