Colten Surname History

Origins Available:
England
Ireland

The name Colten is part of the ancient legacy of the Anglo-Saxon tribes of Britain. It is a product of when the family lived in Colton. There are places named Colton in Staffordshire, Norfolk and North Yokshire. Although the Staffordshire origin is more common some families' names are derived from the Norfolk location.

Early Origins of the Colten family

The surname Colten was first found in Colton or Coulton, located in Staffordshire, North Yorkshire, Norfolk and Cumbria. The places had a variety of listings in the Domesday Book including Coletuna 1, Coletune (North Yorkshire) and Coltone (Staffordshire.) However, the meaning of the place names were essentially the same: "farmstead of a man called Cola or Koli" having derived from the Old English or Old Scandinavian personal name + tun. 2 The Cumbria placename was originally listed as Coleton in 1202, but its origins may have been much earlier.

One of the first records of the family was John Colton (d. 1404), Archbishop of Armagh, "said to have been born at Terrington in Norfolk. He was chaplain to William Bateman, Bishop of Norwich, who may have introduced him to Edmond Gonville, the founder of Caius and Gonville College, Cambridge, of which he was appointed the first master in 1348. " 3

Early History of the Colten family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Colten research. Another 116 words (8 lines of text) covering the years 1126, 1235, 1296, 1320, 1371 and 1404 are included under the topic Early Colten History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Colten Spelling Variations

The first dictionaries that appeared in the last few hundred years did much to standardize the English language. Before that time, spelling variations in names were a common occurrence. The language was changing, incorporating pieces of other languages, and the spelling of names changed with it. Colten has been spelled many different ways, including Colton, Coulton and others.

Early Notables of the Colten family

Another 39 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Colten Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Colten family to Ireland

Some of the Colten family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 30 words (2 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Colten migration to the United States +

Thousands of English families in this era began to emigrate the New World in search of land and freedom from religious and political persecution. Although the passage was expensive and the ships were dark, crowded, and unsafe, those who made the voyage safely were rewarded with opportunities unavailable to them in their homeland. Research into passenger and immigration lists has revealed some of the very first Coltens to arrive in North America:

Colten Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Jonathan Colten, who landed in New England in 1752 4

Citations +

Page, William (ed), A History of the County of Norfolk. London: Victoria County History, 1906. Print
Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. Print
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)