Show ContentsHesden History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Early Origins of the Hesden family

The surname Hesden was first found in west London at Heston, now a suburban area of the London Borough of Hounslow. The village is actually just north of Hounslow, and has been settled since Saxon times. The first record of the village was in c. 1125 when it was listed as Hestone and meant "farmstead among the brushwood. " 1

While it is generally believed that the surname originated in the area of this village in the year 1321 when William de Hewstone was listed as a merchant there, 2 Histon, Cambridgeshire was established over one hundred years before the London village and was listed in the Domesday Book of 1086 as Histone.

More recently, the villages of Histon and Impington, Cambridgeshire have grown so entwined that many of the villagers today do not know where one village ends and the other begins.

Walter Heston (fl. 1350), was a Carmelite, a "Cambridge scholar and doctor of divinity, who is said to have obtained a great reputation as a philosopher and theologian. He belonged to the Carmelite house at Stamford. He is said to have died and been buried at Stamford. He is also called Hessodunus, Nestonus, or Keso." 3

Early History of the Hesden family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Hesden research. Another 140 words (10 lines of text) covering the years 1455, 1487, 1745, 1802, 1810 and 1824 are included under the topic Early Hesden History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Hesden Spelling Variations

Before the last few hundred years, the English language had no fast system of spelling rules. For that reason, spelling variations are commonly found in early Anglo-Saxon surnames. Over the years, many variations of the name Hesden were recorded, including Heston, Hesdon, Hesdin, Hestin, Histon, Histin and others.

Early Notables of the Hesden family

Distinguished members of the family include Edward Warner Heston (1745-1824), American officer in the Sixth Company, Seventh Battalion of the Pennsylvania militia during the American Revolutionary War and later a Pennsylvania State Senator (1802-1810). After the war, he...
Another 37 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Hesden Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Hesden family

To escape oppression and starvation at that time, many English families left for the "open frontiers" of the New World with all its perceived opportunities. In droves people migrated to the many British colonies, those in North America in particular, paying high rates for passages in cramped, unsafe ships. Although many of the settlers did not make the long passage alive, those who did see the shores of North America perceived great opportunities before them. Many of the families that came from England went on to make essential contributions to the emerging nations of Canada and the United States. Research into various historical records revealed some of first members of the Hesden family emigrate to North America: the name was represented in many forms and recorded from the mid 17th century in the great migration from Europe. Migrants settled in the eastern seaboard from Newfoundland, to Maine, to Virginia, the Carolinas, and to the islands..



  1. Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
  2. Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
  3. Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. Print


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