Gayton History, Family Crest & Coats of ArmsThe 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:
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
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
Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include: Gayton Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century
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. 9 Gayton Settlers in West Indies in the 17th Century
Arrow Air Flight 1285
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