Leyton History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Ireland

Leyton is a name whose history is connected to the ancient Anglo-Saxon tribes of Britain. The name is derived from when the Leyton family once lived in the place called Leighton which had various locations in England including Huntingdon, Salop (Shropshire), Bedford, North Riding of Yorkshire and Cheshire. This Habitation name was originally derived from the Old English word Leac-tun, which referred to the homestead where leeks were grown.

Leyton is an area of north-east London, part of the London Borough of Waltham Forest in Essex. In this case, the name means "settlement on the River Lea" and was also known until 1921 as "Low Leyton" and also included Leytonstone. It dates back to the Domesday Book, when it was called Leintun at that time. 1

Early Origins of the Leyton family

The surname Leyton was first found in Shropshire, where "the Leightons are stated to have been seated at Leighton in this county prior to the Conquest: Domesday has 'Rainald (vicecom') ten' Lestone; Leuui tenuit temp. Reg. Edw.' Hence there can be no doubt the name Lestone, i.e. Lewi's-town, now Leighton was derived. " 2

Today Leighton is named Leighton and Eaton Constantine. Later in Huntingdon, Roger de Leyton and Clement de Leyton were listed in the Hundredorum Rolls of 1273. The same rolls listed Henry de Leyton in Buckinghamshire. 3

As one would expect, Leighton in Cheshire was at one time held by the family. "At the time of the Domesday Survey this place belonged to Robert de Rodelent, after whose death it was given to the barons of Montalt, of whom it was held by the Leighton family." 4 Today Leaton is a small village in the parish of Pimhill in Shropshire.

Early History of the Leyton family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Leyton research. Another 170 words (12 lines of text) covering the years 1391, 1525, 1530, 1549, 1565, 1570, 1591, 1593, 1609, 1610, 1611, 1614, 1622, 1653, 1661, 1662, 1671, 1674, 1684, 1693, 1705 and 1797 are included under the topic Early Leyton History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Leyton Spelling Variations

Sound was what guided spelling in the essentially pre-literate Middle Ages, so one person's name was often recorded under several variations during a single lifetime. Also, before the advent of the printing press and the first dictionaries, the English language was not standardized. Therefore, spelling variations were common, even among the names of the most literate people. Known variations of the Leyton family name include Leighton, Layton, Laton and others.

Early Notables of the Leyton family

Notables of this surname at this time include: Sir Brian Leighton; Sir Edward Leighton (by 1525-1593), an English politician, High Sheriff of Montgomeryshire for 1549 and 1591; Sir Thomas Leighton (c.1530-1610), an English soldier and politician who served as the Governor of Guernsey and Jersey from 1570 to 1609; Sir William Leighton (c. 1565-1622), an Elizabethan composer and editor who published The Teares and Lamentatacions of a...
Another 66 words (5 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Leyton Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Leyton family to Ireland

Some of the Leyton 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.

Leyton migration to the United States +

For political, religious, and economic reasons, thousands of English families boarded ships for Ireland, Canada, the America colonies, and many of smaller tropical colonies in the hope of finding better lives abroad. Although the passage on the cramped, dank ships caused many to arrive in the New World diseased and starving, those families that survived the trip often went on to make valuable contributions to those new societies to which they arrived. Early immigrants bearing the Leyton surname or a spelling variation of the name include:

Leyton Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

William Leyton, who arrived in Maryland in 1671 5

Leyton Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Manuel Ma Leyton, aged 33, who landed in New Orleans, La in 1829 5
Robert Leyton, aged 21, who settled in America from Southampton, in 1897

Leyton Settlers in United States in the 20th Century

Dorothy Leyton, aged 22, who immigrated to the United States from London, England, in 1908
George Leyton, aged 32, who landed in America from London, England, in 1908
Mrs. A. P. Leyton, who immigrated to the United States, in 1911
Peter Leyton, aged 36, who landed in America, in 1911
Lawrence Leyton, aged 25, who immigrated to America from London, England, in 1914
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Contemporary Notables of the name Leyton (post 1700) +

John Dudley Leyton (b. 1939), English actor and singer
Elliott Leyton (1939-2022), Canadian social-anthropologist, educator and author, born in Leader, Saskatchewan
Carlos Sepúlveda Leyton, Chilean writer

Citations +

Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
Shirley, Evelyn Philip, The Noble and Gentle Men of England; The Arms and Descents. Westminster: John Bower Nichols and Sons, 1866, Print.
Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, 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)