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Orton History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

United States Canada Australia New Zealand

Contemporary Notables Historic Events Related Stories Citations

Orton History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Scotland

Early Origins of the Orton family

The surname Orton was first found in Cumberland, where they held a family seat from very ancient times as Lords of the manor of Orton, some say before the Norman Conquest in 1066 A.D.

Early History of the Orton family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Orton research. Another 107 words (8 lines of text) covering the years 1224, 1550 and 1952 are included under the topic Early Orton History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Orton Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Ortun, Orton, Ortone and others.

Early Notables of the Orton family

Notable amongst the family at this time was

Orton of Cumberland

Orton Ranking

In the United States, the name Orton is the 4,958^th most popular surname with an estimated 4,974 people with that name. [1]

Orton migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Orton Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Thomas Orton, who arrived in Massachusetts in 1636 [2]
John Orton who settled in Virginia in 1654
James Orton, who arrived in Virginia in 1664 [2]

Orton Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Christopher Orton, who landed in Georgia in 1741 [2]
Mr. Orton, who settled in Georgia in 1741
Thomas Orton, who landed in America in 1763
William Orton, who settled in Maryland in 1772

Orton Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Jane and Maria Orton, who settled in New York State in 1822
Jane Orton, aged 26, who landed in America in 1822 [2]
Maria Orton, aged 16, who landed in America in 1822 [2]
Robert Orton, who settled in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1856

Orton migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Orton Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century

John Orton, who arrived in Nova Scotia in 1749

Orton Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century

William Orton, who landed in Canada in 1836

Orton migration to Australia +

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

Orton Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mr. Richard Orton, British Convict who was convicted in Leicestershire, England for 14 years, transported aboard the "Earl Spencer" in May 1813, arriving in New South Wales, Australia [3]
Mr. James Orton, English convict who was convicted in Leicester, Leicestershire, England for 14 years, transported aboard the "Barossa" on 8th December 1839, arriving in New South Wales, Australia [4]
Mr. James Orton who was convicted in Leicester, Leicestershire, England for 15 years, transported aboard the "Duchess of Northumberland" on 1st October 1842, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) [5]
William Orton, English convict from Leicester, who was transported aboard the "Adelaide" on August 08, 1849, settling in Van Diemen's Land and Port Phillip, Australia [6]

Orton migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

Orton Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Mr. Orton, British settler travelling from London aboard the ship "Northfleet" arriving in Auckland, New Zealand, Via Wellington and Lyttleton in February 1854 [7]
Mrs. Orton, British settler travelling from London aboard the ship "Northfleet" arriving in Auckland, New Zealand, Via Wellington and Lyttleton in February 1854 [7]
Child Orton, British settler travelling from London aboard the ship "Northfleet" arriving in Auckland, New Zealand, Via Wellington and Lyttleton in February 1854 [7]
James Orton, aged 19, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Oxford" in 1874

Contemporary Notables of the name Orton (post 1700) +

Randal Barry Orton (1958-2021), American actor and professional wrestler
Harlow S. Orton (1817-1895), American justice on the Wisconsin Supreme Court from (1878-1895), Chief Justice from 1894 to 1895
Azariah Giles Orton (1789-1864), American Presbyterian theologian
James Orton (1830-1877), American naturalist
Daniel Joseph Orton (b. 1990), American professional NBA basketball player
William "Bill" Orton (1948-2009), American politician, Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Utah (1991-1997)
Samuel Torrey Orton (1879-1948), American physician who pioneered the study of learning disabilities, best known for his work on dyslexia
Robert Keith "Cowboy" Orton (b. 1950), American professional wrestler
Robert Dale "Bob" Orton (1929-2006), American professional wrestler
Randal Keith "Randy" Orton (b. 1980), American professional wrestler and actor
... (Another 20 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Historic Events for the Orton family +

HMS Dorsetshire

Charles Percy Orton (d. 1945), British Able Seaman aboard the HMS Dorsetshire when she was struck by air bombers and sunk; he died in the sinking [8]

Citations +

"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 8th September 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/earl-spencer
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 24th September 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/barossa
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 20th July 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/duchess-of-northumberland
State Library of Queensland. (Retrieved 2014, November 17) Adelaide voyage to Van Diemen's Land and Port Phillip, Australia in 1849 with 303 passengers. Retrieved from http://www.convictrecords.com.au/ships/adelaide/1849
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 17th October 2018). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
Force Z Survivors HMS Dorsetshire Crew List, (Retrieved 2018, February 13th), https://www.forcez-survivors.org.uk/biographies/listdorsetshirecrew.html