Aten History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Ireland

Of all the Anglo-Saxon names to come from Britain, Aten is one of the most ancient. The name is a result of the original family having lived on a farm by a river or a farm on an island. 1 The surname Aten originally derived from the Old English word Eatun which referred to farm on a river or island. The surname Aten 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. Habitation names form the other broad category of surnames that were derived from place-names. They were derived from pre-existing names for towns, villages, parishes, or farmsteads. Other local names are derived from the names of houses, manors, estates, regions, and entire counties. As a general rule, the greater the distance between an individual and their homeland, the larger the territory they were named after. For example, a person who only moved to another parish would be known by the name of their original village, while people who migrated to a different country were often known by the name of a region or country from which they came.

Early Origins of the Aten family

The surname Aten was first found in various townships named "Eaton," throughout Britain including those in Berkshire, Cheshire, Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire, Salop, Herefordshire, Bedfordshire and more. Many of the villages and parishes date back to the Domesday Book of 1086 including: Castle Eaton, Wiltshire; Eaton, Norfolk; Eaton, Oxfordshire; Eaton Socon, Cambridgeshire and Eaton Bray in Bedfordshire. 1

One source claims that Cheshire is the original home to the family. "The Cheshire Eatons take their name from townships of the name in the county. The Eatons of Eaton, a very old and distinguished family, are probably the parent stock." 2

The Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 points to the earliest records of the family: Peter de Eton in Huntingdonshire; and Brian de Eton in Wiltshire. 3

Early History of the Aten family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Aten research. Another 70 words (5 lines of text) covering the years 1590, 1596, 1610, 1633, 1634, 1658, 1665, 1674, 1684 and 1890 are included under the topic Early Aten History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Aten Spelling Variations

The first dictionaries that appeared in the last few hundred years did much to standardize the English language. Before that time, spelling variations in names were a common occurrence. The language was changing, incorporating pieces of other languages, and the spelling of names changed with it. Aten has been spelled many different ways, including Eaton, Eton, Eaten and others.

Early Notables of the Aten family

Notables of the family at this time include Samuel Eaton (ca.1596-1665), an English independent divine; Theophilus Eaton (c.1590-1658), a merchant, farmer, and Puritan colonial leader who was the co-founder and first governor of New Haven Colony, Connecticut; Nathaniel Eaton (1610-1674) English settler Massachusetts Bay Colony (c. 1634), the first schoolmaster of Harvard College in Cambridge, Massachusetts; and...
Another 57 words (4 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Aten Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Aten Ranking

In the United States, the name Aten is the 17,067^th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 4

Migration of the Aten family to Ireland

Some of the Aten family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 82 words (6 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Aten migration to the United States +

Thousands of English families in this era began to emigrate the New World in search of land and freedom from religious and political persecution. Although the passage was expensive and the ships were dark, crowded, and unsafe, those who made the voyage safely were rewarded with opportunities unavailable to them in their homeland. Research into passenger and immigration lists has revealed some of the very first Atens to arrive in North America:

Aten Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Adrian Hendrickse Aten, who arrived in New Netherland(s) in 1665 5
Hendrick Aten, who landed in Long Island in 1687 5
Thomas Aten, who landed in Long Island in 1687 5

Aten Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Yan Aten, who arrived in Long Island in 1701 5
Jan Aten, who arrived in Long Island in 1701 5

Contemporary Notables of the name Aten (post 1700) +

Ira Aten (1862-1953), American Texas Ranger, inducted into the Texas Rangers Hall of Fame
W. F. Aten, American Republican politician, Presidential Elector for Illinois, 1908 6
Murl K. Aten (1901-1971), American Republican politician, Candidate in primary for U.S. Representative from Michigan 2nd District, 1950 6
John G. Aten, American politician, Member of West Virginia State House of Delegates from Mason County, 1901-04 6
Erhart Aten (1932-2004), Micronesian politician

The Aten Motto +

The motto was originally a war cry or slogan. Mottoes first began to be shown with arms in the 14th and 15th centuries, but were not in general use until the 17th century. Thus the oldest coats of arms generally do not include a motto. Mottoes seldom form part of the grant of arms: Under most heraldic authorities, a motto is an optional component of the coat of arms, and can be added to or changed at will; many families have chosen not to display a motto.

Motto: Vincit omnia veritas
Motto Translation: Truth conquers all things.

Citations +

Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
Guppy, Henry Brougham, Homes of Family Names in Great Britain. 1890. 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)
"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)
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, October 8) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html