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Colston History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

Contemporary Notables Related Stories Citations

Colston History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Scotland

The Anglo-Saxon name Colston comes from when the family resided in either Colston Basset, which is in Carcolston in Nottinghamshire, or in Coulston, which lies in the county of Wiltshire. [1] The surname Colston often belongs to the large category of Anglo-Saxon habitation names, which are derived from pre-existing names for towns, villages, parishes, or farmsteads. However, the name Colston is also often a patronymic surname derived from the Old English name Colstan or the Old Norse name Kolstein.

Early Origins of the Colston family

The surname Colston was first found in Nottinghamshire at Colston, now known as Colston Basset. The first record of the family was John de Colston who was listed here 20 Edward I. Some of the family were found in Yorkshire in early times. The Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 list William Colstan and later the Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls list Johannes Colstane. [1]

As one would expect with listings so close to the Scottish border, Colston is near Bishopriggs, Lanarkshire, and Colstoun is found in East Lothian. However, the name is rare in Scotland. "Robert Colston, a Scotsman, had a safe conduct in England in 1465 and James Colston was an Edinburgh magistrate and local historian." [2]

Early History of the Colston family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Colston research. Another 88 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1636, 1672, 1708, 1713, 1719 and 1721 are included under the topic Early Colston History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Colston Spelling Variations

The English language only became standardized in the last few centuries; therefore,spelling variations are common among early Anglo-Saxon names. As the form of the English language changed, even the spelling of literate people's names evolved. Colston has been recorded under many different variations, including Coulston, Colston and others.

Early Notables of the Colston family

Notables of this surname at this time include:

Edward Colston (1636-1721), a Bristol-born English merchant, philanthropist and Member of Parliament, eponym of the Colston bun, made of a yeast dough that is flavored with dried fruit, candied peel a...

Colston Ranking

In the United States, the name Colston is the 5,008^th most popular surname with an estimated 4,974 people with that name. [3]

Colston migration to the United States +

For many English families, the political and religious disarray that shrouded England made the far away New World an attractive prospect. On cramped disease-ridden ships, thousands migrated to those British colonies that would eventually become Canada and the United States. Those hardy settlers that survived the journey often went on to make important contributions to the emerging nations in which they landed. Analysis of immigration records indicates that some of the first North American immigrants bore the name Colston or a variant listed above:

Colston Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

John Colston who settled in Virginia in 1653
Francis Colston, who arrived in Virginia in 1653 [4]
Joseph Colston, who settled in New England in 1663
Joseph Colston, who arrived in New England in 1670 [4]

Colston Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

John Colston, who landed in Virginia in 1704 [4]

Colston Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

B Colston, who arrived in San Francisco, California in 1851 [4]

Colston migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Colston Settlers in Canada in the 17th Century

William Colston (fl.1610–1612) English settler from Bristol to Cuper's Cove, Newfoundland in 1610, Deputy Governor from August 1611 to June 1612

Colston Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century

Ralph Colston, who landed in Nova Scotia in 1749

Colston migration to Australia +

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

Colston Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mr. James Colston, (b. 1825), aged 20, English cabinet maker who was convicted in Wells, Somerset, England for 7 years for stealing, transported aboard the "Equestrian" on 30th June 1845, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Island), he died in 1897 [5]

Contemporary Notables of the name Colston (post 1700) +

Edward Colston (1786-1852), American politician, U.S. Representative from Virginia
Dr. James A. Colston (1910-1982), the first African-American to serve as president of a college in the state of New York, President of the Bronx Community College in 1966
Raleigh Edward Colston (1825-1896), French-born American professor, soldier, cartographer, writer and brigadier general for the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War
Marques Colston (b. 1983), American NFL football wide receiver
Peter R. Colston (b. 1935), English ornithologist, former Senior Curator at the Natural History Museum
Charles Edward Hungerford Atholl Colston (1854-1925), 1st Baron Roundway, British Conservative Party politician
Malcolm Arthur "Mal" Colston (1938-2003), Australian politician, Senator in the Parliament of Australia for Queensland between 1975 and 1999
Edward Colston Marshall (1821-1893), American Democratic Party politician, U.S. Representative from California 1st District, 1851-53; Candidate for U.S. Senator from California, 1856 [6]

Citations +

Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
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)
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
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)
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 9th May 2022). https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/equestrian
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, October 22) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html