Show ContentsClouston History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

In the Middle Ages, the first family to use the Clouston surname took the name from a place name with Viking roots. They lived in the place named Clouston, a village in Stenness, Orkney. The origins of the place-name are in the Old Norse name Klostathr. which came to Scotland in the 9th century in the waves of pillage, invasion and colonization by the Norwegian Vikings.

Early Origins of the Clouston family

The surname Clouston was first found in the Orkneys, where they held a family seat from very ancient times, as recorded in the Norse Sagas.

Early History of the Clouston family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Clouston research. Another 62 words (4 lines of text) covering the year 1607 is included under the topic Early Clouston History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Clouston Spelling Variations

In the Middle Ages, no real standards were established to judge the accuracy of spelling and translation. They were done mostly by ear and intuition, and enormous numbers of spelling variations were the unsurprising result. Clouston has appeared as Clouston, Clouson, Clowston, Clowstoun, Clowstoune, Cloustown, Cloustowne, Clousone, Clauston, Claustoun, Claustown and many more.

Early Notables of the Clouston family

Notable amongst the Clan from early times was

  • George Clouston of the Orkneys


United States Clouston migration to the United States +

North America was far from Britain's oppressive monarchy. There, the Scottish found land and freedom, and many even the opportunity to pay back England in the American War of Independence. This brave heritage survives today largely in Clan societies and other patriotic Scottish organizations. Research into passenger and immigration lists has brought forth evidence of the early members of the Clouston family in North America:

Clouston Settlers in United States in the 20th Century
  • Sophie Clouston, aged 41, arrived in New York in 1919 aboard the ship "Kronprinz Frederich Wilhelm" from Brest, France 1
  • Andrew Clouston, aged 22, originally from St. Johns, Newfoundland, arrived in New York in 1919 aboard the ship "Neptune" from St. John's, Newfoundland 1
  • John Clouston, aged 23, originally from St Johns, Newfoundland, arrived in New York in 1920 aboard the ship "Rosalind" from St. John's, Newfoundland 1

Contemporary Notables of the name Clouston (post 1700) +

  • Dr David Clouston FRSE (1871-1948), Scottish agriculturalist, horticulturalist and author, Agricultural Advisor to India from 1923 to 1929
  • William Alexander Clouston (1843-1896), Scottish folklorist
  • Sir Thomas Smith Clouston FRSE PRCPE (1840-1915), Scottish psychiatrist, father of Joseph Storer Clouston
  • Joseph Storer Clouston (1870-1944), Scottish author and historian
  • Brendan Roy Clouston (b. 1953), Canadian billionaire, former CEO and president of the telecoms company, Tele-Communications Inc
  • Scott Clouston (b. 1987), Australian rules footballer for the Brisbane Lions in 2008
  • Commander James Campbell Clouston (1900-1940), Canadian officer of the British Royal Navy, pier-master during the Dunkirk evacuation
  • James Stewart Clouston (1826-1874), Canadian merchant, the last Chief Factor of the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC), father of Sir Edward Seaborne Clouston
  • Sir Edward Seaborne Clouston (1849-1912), 1st Baronet, a Canadian banker and financier, General Manager of the Bank of Montreal
  • Cory Clouston (b. 1969), Canadian ice hockey coach
  • ... (Another 3 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)


  1. Ellis Island Search retrieved 15th November 2022. Retrieved from https://heritage.statueofliberty.org/passenger-result


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