| ![Show Contents]() Gayton History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms
The name Gayton has a long Anglo-Saxon heritage. The name comes from when a family lived in the area of Cheshire that was referred to as the hill of Gaega, Gaega being an Anglo-Saxon personal name. Gayton is a topographic surname, which was given to a person who resided near a physical feature such as a hill, stream, church, or type of tree. Another source notes the name could have been a local name having derived from the Viking "geit" + "tun," and literally meant "farmstead where the goats are kept." 1 Early Origins of the Gayton familyThe surname Gayton was first found in Lincolnshire where three of the earliest records of the family were listed. The first was Robert de Geiton who was listed there in the Pipe Rolls of 1193 2, the second and third were Ralph de Gayton and Richard de Gayton, both listed there in the Hundredorum Rolls of 1273. 3 Much further to the north in Scotland, Geoffrey de Gaytun was Burgess of Aberdeen in 1275 and Galfridus dictus de Gaytun, appears as a charter witness there in 1231, but this source notes that the name was "of English origin from one or other of several places of the name in England." 4 A migration to Scotland must be presumed. We discovered a township in Cheshire, a parish in Norfolk; a parish in Northamptonshire; a parish in Staffordshire; and two parishes in Lincolnshire all named Gayton. The Norfolk, Staffordshire and Lincolnshire parishes are listed in the Domesday Book of 1086 as Gaituna, Gaitone and Gettone respectively. 1 5 Early History of the Gayton familyThis web page shows only a small excerpt of our Gayton research. Another 95 words (7 lines of text) covering the years 1200, 1273, 1317, 1608, 1666, 1720, 1744, 1745, 1747, 1754, 1755 and 1787 are included under the topic Early Gayton History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible. Gayton Spelling VariationsSpelling variations in names were a common occurrence before English spelling was standardized a few hundred years ago. In the Middle Ages, even the literate spelled their names differently as the English language incorporated elements of French, Latin, and other European languages. Many variations of the name Gayton have been found, including Gayton, Gaydon, Gaytun, Gaton and others. Early Notables of the Gayton familyNotables of this surname at this time include: - Edmund Gayton (1608-1666), English author, son of George Gayton of Little Britain, London; he was born there 30 Nov. 1608. 6
- Clark Gayton (1720?-1787?), was a British admiral who after serving as a midshipman in the Squirrel with Captain Peter Warren on the coast of North America, and subsequently as a lieutenant in the Wes...
Gayton RankingIn the United States, the name Gayton is the 7,977th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 7
 Gayton migration to the United States | + |
Families began migrating abroad in enormous numbers because of the political and religious discontent in England. Often faced with persecution and starvation in England, the possibilities of the New World attracted many English people. Although the ocean trips took many lives, those who did get to North America were instrumental in building the necessary groundwork for what would become for new powerful nations. Some of the first immigrants to cross the Atlantic and come to North America bore the name Gayton, or a variant listed above:
Gayton Settlers in United States in the 18th Century- Roger Gayton, who arrived in Maryland in 1774
| Gayton migration to Australia | + |
Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include: Gayton Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century- Mr. James Gayton, English convict who was convicted in Coventry, England for 15 years, transported aboard the "Duncan" on 10th December 1840, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 8
- Mr. Thomas Gayton, English convict who was convicted in Coventry, England for 10 years, transported aboard the "Duncan" on 10th December 1840, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 8
| Gayton migration to West Indies | + |
The British first settled the British West Indies around 1604. They made many attempts but failed in some to establish settlements on the Islands including Saint Lucia and Grenada. By 1627 they had managed to establish settlements on St. Kitts (St. Christopher) and Barbados, but by 1641 the Spanish had moved in and destroyed some of these including those at Providence Island. The British continued to expand the settlements including setting the First Federation in the British West Indies by 1674; some of the islands include Barbados, Bermuda, Cayman Island, Turks and Caicos, Jamaica and Belize then known as British Honduras. By the 1960's many of the islands became independent after the West Indies Federation which existed from 1958 to 1962 failed due to internal political conflicts. After this a number of Eastern Caribbean islands formed a free association. 9Gayton Settlers in West Indies in the 17th Century- Richard Gayton, who settled in Barbados in 1680 with his servants
| Contemporary Notables of the name Gayton (post 1700) | + |
- James Bennett Gayton, American politician, Delegate to North Dakota State Constitutional Convention from Emmons County, 1889 10
- George L. Gayton, American Republican politician, Candidate for Michigan State House of Representatives 16th District, 1976; Candidate for Michigan State Senate 10th District, 1978 10
- Gayton Pickman Osgood (1797-1861), American Democratic Party politician, Member of Massachusetts State Legislature; U.S. Representative from Massachusetts 3rd District, 1833-35 11
| Historic Events for the Gayton family | + |
Arrow Air Flight 1285 - Mr. Anthony Lovell Gayton (1964-1985), American Specialist 4th Class from Robbins, Illinois, USA who died in the Arrow Air Flight 1285 crash 12
- Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
- Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
- 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)
- Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
- Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. Print
- "What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
- Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 11th August 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/duncan
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies
- The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, October 19) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
- The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, November 10) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
- American War Memorials - Flight 1285. (Retrieved 2016, August 24) . Retrieved from http://www.uswarmemorials.org/html/monument_details.php?SiteID=317&MemID=550
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Gayton migration to the United States 
Gayton migration to Australia 
Gayton migration to West Indies 
England
Scotland
