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Show ContentsSomerton History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

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  • England England
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Family Crest Download (JPG) Heritage Series - 600 DPI

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Early Origins of the Somerton family

The surname Somerton was first found in Norfolk where the surname is descended from the tenant of the lands of Somerton held by William de Noyers, a Norman Baron who held 33 manors from the King and who was recorded in the Domesday Book census of 1086. William de Noyers was descended from the Counts of Nevers in Normandy. 1

More recently, Somerton is a parish in Oxfordshire, a market-town and parish in Somerset and a parish in Suffolk. East and West Somerton are still parishes in Norfolk.

As one would expect, the place names literally mean "farmstead used in summer," from the Old English words "sumor" + "tun." 2

Some of the parishes date back to the Domesday Book of 1086 where they were listed as: Somertune 3; Sumertone (Oxfordshire); and Summertone (Somerset.) And the Somerset parish dates back further to Saxon times when it was listed as Sumortun (901-924.) 2

It is generally thought that the first record of the family was Lawrence Somerton, Somercote or Swinercote (fl. 1254), and English Canonist, born in the south of England. He was brother or kinsman of Cardinal Robert Somercote (died 1241), and became, like him, subdeacon to the pope. 4

Early History of the Somerton family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Somerton research. Another 82 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1177 and 1230 are included under the topic Early Somerton History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Somerton Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Somerton, Summerton, Somerton, Sumerton, Sumorton and many more.

Early Notables of the Somerton family

Outstanding amongst the family at this time was

  • the Somerton family of Norfolk

Somerton Ranking

In Newfoundland, Canada, the name Somerton is the 471st most popular surname with an estimated 100 people with that name. 5

United States Somerton migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Somerton Settlers in United States in the 17th Century
  • John Somerton, aged 24, who landed in Virginia in 1635 aboard the ship "Transport" 6
  • Jon Somerton, who landed in Virginia in 1650 6

Australia Somerton migration to Australia +

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

Somerton Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century
  • Mr. Richard Somerton, (b. 1771), aged 36, English labourer who was convicted in Somerset, England for life for theft, transported aboard the "Duke of Portland" in January 1807, arriving in New South Wales, Australia, he died in 1834 7

Contemporary Notables of the name Somerton (post 1700) +

  • Herbert Somerton Foxwell (1849-1936), English economist
RMS Titanic
  • Mr. Francis William Somerton (d. 1912), aged 30, English Third Class passenger from Greatfield, Cheltenham who sailed aboard the RMS Titanic and died in the sinking 8
  1. The Norman People and Their Existing Descendants in the British Dominions and the United States Of America. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing, 1975. Print. (ISBN 0-8063-0636-X)
  2. Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
  3. Page, William (ed), A History of the County of Norfolk. London: Victoria County History, 1906. Print
  4. Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. Print
  5. The order of Common Surnames in 1955 in Newfoundland retrieved on 20th October 2021 (retrieved from Family Names of the Island of Newfoundland by E.R. Seary corrected edition ISBN 0-7735-1782-0)
  6. 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)
  7. Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 28th July 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/duke-of-portland
  8. Titanic Passenger List - Titanic Facts. (Retrieved 2016, July 13) . Retrieved from http://www.titanicfacts.net/titanic-passenger-list.html
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