Contents [hide]

Anton History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

Contemporary Notables Historic Events Related Stories Citations

Anton History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Germany
Ireland

Anton is one of the thousands of new names that the Norman Conquest of 1066 brought to England. It comes from the Latin family name Antonius, which means "inestimable or worthy of praise." 1 Another source notes that it may have been derived from "the personal name; also a parish in Cornwall. Places called St. Antoine and Antoigni occur in Normandy. " 2

Early Origins of the Anton family

The surname Anton was first found in Lincolnshire. "The name had become fairly popular in England in the 13th century, as having been borne by the great hermit of the 4th century. He was the patron saint of the swineherd. " 3

Early History of the Anton family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Anton research. Another 81 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1273, 1550, 1568, 1585, 1607, 1613, 1616, 1623 and 1655 are included under the topic Early Anton History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Anton Spelling Variations

Anglo-Norman names tend to be marked by an enormous number of spelling variations. This is largely due to the fact that Old and Middle English lacked any spelling rules when Norman French was introduced in the 11th century. The languages of the English courts at that time were French and Latin. These various languages mixed quite freely in the evolving social milieu. The final element of this mix is that medieval scribes spelled words according to their sounds rather than any definite rules, so a name was often spelled in as many different ways as the number of documents it appeared in. The name was spelled Anthony, Antony, Antonie, McAnthony, Anton (Scot), Anthoney, Enthony and many more.

Early Notables of the Anton family

Outstanding amongst the family at this time was

Robert Anton (fl. 1616), was an English poetical writer, supposed to have been a son of George Anton, recorder of Lincoln. 4

Anton Ranking

In the United States, the name Anton is the 6,667^th most popular surname with an estimated 4,974 people with that name. 5 However, in France, the name Anton is ranked the 1,803^rd most popular surname with an estimated 3,407 people with that name. 6

Migration of the Anton family to Ireland

Some of the Anton family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 50 words (4 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Anton migration to the United States +

Because of the political and religious discontent in England, families began to migrate abroad in enormous numbers. Faced with persecution and starvation at home, the open frontiers and generally less oppressive social environment of the New World seemed tantalizing indeed to many English people. The trip was difficult, and not all made it unscathed, but many of those who did get to Canada and the United States made important contributions to the young nations in which they settled. Some of the first North American settlers with Anton name or one of its variants:

Anton Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Jeremy Anton, aged 22, who landed in Maryland in 1684 7

Anton Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Georg Anton, who settled in New Hampshire in 1718
Samuel Anton, who settled in New England in 1718
Frantz Anton, who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1750 7

Anton Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Lorenzo Anton, who arrived in Puerto Rico in 1803 7
P Anton, aged 20, who landed in New York, NY in 1850 7
Peter Anton, who landed in North America in 1852 7
John Anton, who landed in Allegany (Allegheny) County, Pennsylvania in 1852 7
C T Anton, who arrived in New York, NY in 1852 7
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Anton Settlers in United States in the 20th Century

Richard Anderson Anton, who landed in Alabama in 1923 7

Anton 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:

Anton Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Mr. Robert Anton, (b. 1836), aged 28, British farm labourer travelling from Gravesend aboard the ship "Indian Empire" arriving in Lyttelton, Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand on 24th March 1864 8

Contemporary Notables of the name Anton (post 1700) +

Patricia Ann Anton (b. 1953), American Democratic Party politician, Alternate delegate to Democratic National Convention from Iowa, 1972 9
Mark Anton, American Republican politician, Delegate to Republican National Convention from New Jersey, 1952, 1956, 1964; Member of New Jersey State Senate from Essex County, 1953-55 9
James Anton (1914-2006), American politician, Member of New Hampshire State House of Representatives, 1946-47 9
J. J. Anton, American politician, Mayor of Belleville, Illinois, 1925 9
George C. Anton, American politician, Socialist Labor candidate for Presidential Elector for Pennsylvania, 1904; Industrial candidate for Governor of Pennsylvania, 1910; Industrial Candidate for Pennsylvania State Treasurer, 1916 9
Frederick Anton (b. 1934), American Republican politician, Delegate to Republican National Convention from Pennsylvania, 2000, 2004, 2008 9
Frank P. Anton, American Democratic Party politician, Candidate for Pennsylvania State House of Representatives from Allegheny County 4th District, 1926 9
Suzanne Anton QC, Canadian politician, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of British Columbia
Hermann Eduard Anton (1794-1872), German malacologist
James Anton Blyth (b. 1955), Scottish football goalkeeper and coach

Historic Events for the Anton family +

HMS Repulse

Mr. Sydney Anton, English Able Bodied Seaman from England, who sailed into battle on the HMS Repulse (1941) and died in the sinking 10

Citations +

Black, George F., The Surnames of Scotland Their Origin, Meaning and History. New York: New York Public Library, 1946. Print. (ISBN 0-87104-172-3)
Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. 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)
Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. Print
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
http://www.journaldesfemmes.com/nom-de-famille/nom/
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)
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 17th October 2018). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, October 1) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
HMS Repulse Crew members. (Retrieved 2014, April 9) . Retrieved from http://www.forcez-survivors.org.uk/biographies/listrepulsecrew.html