The name itself has, it seems, a number of explanations. The Historical Research Centre gives the following family name history for Vint.

"This surname is a variant of "Wint" or nickname origin, affectionately translated as "one who is very talkative, or very fast, as the wind",........Records is Kelso refer to one John Vint who was a tenant on abbey lands in Kelso in 1567. Bessie Vint and Margaret Vint appear in Heittown, Peebles records in 1685-86 and Edinburgh records show that George Vint resided in Whitle in 1667.....Prominent researchers give "Wint" as an ancient name, occurring in the counties of Oxfordshire and Cambridgeshire in the thirteenth century. The surname Winde appears in the Pipe Rolls for County Essex in 1197....."

Yet another reference to the meaning of 'Vint' comes from "A Dictionary of English Surnames" which has the following entry

"Vint William Fynt 1374 ColchCt; William Vynt 1524 SRSf; Christopher Vint 1689 FrY. From Vint in Oath (Bk)" The abbreviations used are references to the source used so need not concern us save to say that they refer to Colchester and York. The final phrase I take to mean that the name is linked to a place called "Oath", this however will need further investigation.

In the major books on surname origins the name Vint is not included so whilst the name may have been present in Great Britain for a number of centuries it obviously not greatly noticed.

In tracing back the Vint to which I am directly related the trail goes back to Northern Ireland  and at the time of writing this introduction further information on this is being pursued. However it is interesting to note that in a book by the Lisbon Historical Society entitled "The Huguenots of Lisbon" the follow paragraph is included,

"It is thought that the Vint family came from France before the Revocation and have a history of involvement in the linen trade. In 1668 Robert Vint lived in Magheragall and his daughter Isabell was Christened in Lisbon. The family have been faithful to the Calvinist tradition and there are many Vints living in areas around Lisburn, Belfast and Co.Down."

Vint could well be of French origin given that it is the past tense of the verb 'venir' which means 'it came.  Since I cannot find Vint as a surname in France then perhaps it was a given designation for a French Huguenot who 'came to Northern Ireland. This etymology would be worth investigating more

Though many of the links point towards Northern Ireland it appears that some of the Vint family may have come originally from England.  In the 1881 census there were 261 people registered with the Vint surname the majority being from London and York.  

It is of interest to note that the surname Vint is recorded in Jewish-Russian records from the yiddish for wind.

At the end of this section you can see that the origin of Vint and it's meaning are unclear - unless, of course, you know better!