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Atherton History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

Contemporary Notables Historic Events Related Stories Citations

Atherton History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

The lineage of the name Atherton begins with the Anglo-Saxon tribes in Britain. It is a result of when they lived in Atherton in the county of Lancashire.

The Adderson, Hetherston, Hetherston and other phonetic variants are thought to have originated in Adderstone, Northumberland, a township, in the parish of Bambrough, union of Belford. 1 This township has gone through many spellings through the ages including: 1233 Edredeston; 1234 Edreston; 1242 Hethereston; 1288 Edderston; 1346 Hetherston, 1428 Ederston and many more. Interesting, this is where the Scottish branch of the family hails. "John de Etherstone of Roxburghshire rendered homage in 1296 [to King Edward I of England] most probably derived his surname from Adderstone (in 1242 Hethereston, 1663 Etherston), near Bamburgh, Northumberland." 2

Early Origins of the Atherton family

The surname Atherton was first found in Lancashire at Atherton, a chapelry, in the parish and union of Leigh, hundred of West Derby or the aforementioned Adderstone, Northumberland. 1

Atherton "was held of the barons of Warrington by Robert de Atherton, in the reign of John; and in this knightly family the manor descended through many generations, successively allied to the Byrons, Warrens, Ashtons, Butlers, Catterals, Conyers, Irelands, and Bolds: by the marriage of the late Lord Lilford with the heiress of Atherton, the manor came to his lordship's family.

Atherton Hall, a superb edifice, built by the Atherton family in the early part of the 18th century, at an expense of about £63,000, was taken down in 1825." 1

Atterton, is a small hamlet, in the parish of Witherley, union of Atherstone, hundred of Sparkenhoe, in Leicestershire. 1

Other first records of the name include Robert de Atherton who was Sheriff of Lancashire in the year 1206. His son William de Atherton held a manor at Atherton of the Barons of Warington. Years later, Hugh de Atherton was listed in the Subsidy Rolls of that shire in 1332. 3

Henry de Athertone was listed in the Subsidy Rolls of Lancashire in 1332 and later, William de Atherton was listed there in 1384. Over in Cheshire, Humphrey Addertone alias Athurton was listed in 1470. 4

Early History of the Atherton family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Atherton research. Another 88 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1598, 1628, 1634, 1635, 1636, 1640, 1671 and 1721 are included under the topic Early Atherton History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Atherton Spelling Variations

Only recently has spelling become standardized in the English language. As the English language evolved in the Middle Ages, the spelling of names changed also. The name Atherton has undergone many spelling variations, including Atherton, Atheron, Hetherston, Adderstone and many more.

Early Notables of the Atherton family

Distinguished members of the family include

John Atherton (1598-1640), English-born Anglican Bishop of Waterford and Lismore in the Church of Ireland. He and his steward and tithe proctor John Childe were both tried and executed for buggery in...
Thomas Atherton, M.A. was rector of the church of St. Michael, Aughton, Lancashire, confirmed on the 13th of July 1721. 5

Atherton Ranking

In the United States, the name Atherton is the 3,842^nd most popular surname with an estimated 7,461 people with that name. 6 However, in the United Kingdom, the name Atherton is ranked the 800^th most popular surname with an estimated 8,429 people with that name. 7

Atherton migration to the United States +

To escape the unstable social climate in England of this time, many families boarded ships for the New World with the hope of finding land, opportunity, and greater religious and political freedom. Although the voyages were expensive, crowded, and difficult, those families that arrived often found greater opportunities and freedoms than they could have experienced at home. Many of those families went on to make significant contributions to the rapidly developing colonies in which they settled. Early North American records indicate many people bearing the name Atherton were among those contributors:

Atherton Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

James Atherton, who settled in New England in 1620
Humphrey Atherton, who arrived in Boston aboard the ship "James"s, bound for Dorchester, Massachusetts in 1635 8
Humphrey Atherton of Preston Lancashire who settled in 1638 in Cambridge, Massachusetts and joined the army and eventually became a Major General
James Atherton, who landed in Dorchester, Massachusetts in 1654 8
Peter Atherton, who landed in Maryland in 1669 8
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Atherton Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Alice Atherton, who landed in Virginia in 1711 8
Augustin Atherton, who arrived in Virginia in 1732 8
John Atherton, who arrived in Georgia in 1747 8
Jonathan Atherton, who arrived in New Hampshire in 1762 8

Atherton Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Charles Atherton, who landed in New York, NY in 1844 8
Samuel Atherton, who arrived in New York, NY in 1846 8
W Atherton, who arrived in San Francisco, California in 1851 8
J Atherton, who landed in San Francisco, California in 1851 8
J P Atherton, who arrived in San Francisco, California in 1855 8
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Atherton Settlers in United States in the 20th Century

Thomas Atherton, who landed in Alabama in 1927 8

Atherton migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Atherton Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

James Atherton, English convict from Lancaster, who was transported aboard the "Albion" on September 21, 1826, settling in New South Wales, Australia 9
Mr. Henry Atherton, English convict who was convicted in Surrey, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "David Lyon" on 29th April 1830, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 10
Mr. Thomas Atherton, (b. 1801), aged 29, English reaper who was convicted in Lancaster, Lancashire, England for life for stealing, transported aboard the "Florentia" on 11th August 1830, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 11
John Atherton, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Spartan" in 1849 12

Atherton migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

Atherton Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

F Atherton, who landed in Kororareka, New Zealand in 1839
Miss Mary Ann Atherton, (b. 1841), aged 22, British domestic servant travelling from London aboard the ship "David G. Fleming" arriving in Lyttelton, Canterbury, New Zealand on 9th December 1863 13
Miss Elizabeth Atherton, (b. 1841), aged 25, British nursemaid travelling from Gravesend, UK aboard the ship "Bombay" arriving in Lyttelton, South Island, New Zealand on 18th August 1866 13
Richard Atherton, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Woodlark" in 1873

Contemporary Notables of the name Atherton (post 1700) +

Nancy Atherton, American writer and author, best known for her Aunt Dimity mystery novel series
William Robert Atherton Knight Jr. (b. 1947), American film, stage and television actor
Keith Atherton (b. 1959), American Major League Baseball player who played from 1983 to 1898
Gibson Atherton (1831-1887), American politician, U.S. Representative from Ohio (1879-1881)
George W. Atherton (1837-1906), American academic, 7th President of the Pennsylvania State University (1182-1906)
Gertrude Franklin Atherton (1857-1948), prolific American writer, best known for her bestseller Black Oxen (1923) which was made into a silent movie of the same name
Edwin Atherton (1896-1944), American FBI agent and private investigator, author of the "Atherton Report" on corruption in the San Francisco Police Department in the late 1930s
Charles "Charlie" Morgan Herbert Atherton (1874-1934), nicknamed "Prexy", an American Major League Baseball player who played from 1895 to 1898
Charles Humphrey Atherton (1773-1853), American politician, U.S. Representative from New Hampshire (1815-1817)
Charles G. Atherton (1804-1853), American politician, U.S. Representative and Senator from New Hampshire, eponym of the "Atherton Gag"
... (Another 23 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Historic Events for the Atherton family +

HMS Prince of Wales

Mr. John Atherton, British Cook, who sailed into battle on the HMS Prince of Wales (1941) and survived the sinking 14

HMS Royal Oak

James Atherton (1917-1939), born in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, British Stoker 1st Class with the Royal Navy aboard the HMS Royal Oak (1939) when she was torpedoed by U-47 and sunk; he died in the sinking 15
Norman Atherton (1917-1939), born in Prescot, Lancashire, England, British Stoker 1st Class with the Royal Navy aboard the HMS Royal Oak (1939) when she was torpedoed by U-47 and sunk; he died in the sinking 15

Citations +

Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
Black, George F., The Surnames of Scotland Their Origin, Meaning and History. New York: New York Public Library, 1946. Print. (ISBN 0-87104-172-3)
Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
'Townships: Scarisbrick', in A History of the County of Lancaster: Volume 3, ed. William Farrer and J Brownbill (London, 1907), pp. 265-276. British History Online http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/lancs/vol3/pp265-276 [accessed 21 January 2017].
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
"UK surname ranking." UK Surname map, https://www.surnamemap.eu/unitedkingdom/surnames_ranking.php?p=10
Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
State Library of Queensland. (Retrieved 2016, October 27) Albion voyage to New South Wales, Australia in 1826 with 192 passengers. Retrieved from http://www.convictrecords.com.au/ships/albion/1826
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 3rd June 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/david-lyon
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 11th October 2022). https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/florentia
State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) The SPARTAN 1849. Retrieved from http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1849Spartan.htm
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 17th October 2018). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
HMS Prince of Wales Crew members. (Retrieved 2014, April 9) . Retrieved from http://www.forcez-survivors.org.uk/biographies/listprincecrew.html
Ships hit by U-boats crew list HMS Royal Oak (08) - (Retrieved 2018 February, 9th) - retrieved from https://uboat.net/allies/merchants/crews/ship68.html