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Claxton History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

Contemporary Notables Related Stories Citations

Claxton History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

Claxton is a name of ancient Anglo-Saxon origin and comes from the family once having lived in Claxton, a small village in the county of Durham. It is generally believed that a branch of the Norman family of Heriz, settled here and assumed the local name. The surname is derived from the Old English word clacs-tun which literally means those who lived near the clayey soil.

Early Origins of the Claxton family

The surname Claxton was first found in Durham where it is believed the first reference of the name was found. There are three other listings of the place name in the Domesday Book: Claxton, or Long Clawson (Clachestone) in Leicestershire, Claxton (Clakestona, Clarestona) in Norfolk, and Claxton (Claxtorp) in North Yorkshire. 1 In Norfolk, Claxton Castle was built in 1333 in the village of Claxton, but it was largely demolished in the 17th century to build Claxton Hall. Today, Claxton is also a village and civil parish in the Ryedale district of North Yorkshire, England.

Early History of the Claxton family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Claxton research. Another 105 words (8 lines of text) covering the years 1615 and 1667 are included under the topic Early Claxton History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Claxton Spelling Variations

Sound was what guided spelling in the essentially pre-literate Middle Ages, so one person's name was often recorded under several variations during a single lifetime. Also, before the advent of the printing press and the first dictionaries, the English language was not standardized. Therefore, spelling variations were common, even among the names of the most literate people. Known variations of the Claxton family name include Claxton, Claxon, Klaxon, Klaxton and others.

Early Notables of the Claxton family

Distinguished members of the family include

Laurence Claxton or Clarkson (1615-1667), sectary, was "born at Preston, Lancashire, in 1615...

Claxton Ranking

In the United States, the name Claxton is the 7,041^st most popular surname with an estimated 4,974 people with that name. 2

Claxton migration to the United States +

For political, religious, and economic reasons, thousands of English families boarded ships for Ireland, Canada, the America colonies, and many of smaller tropical colonies in the hope of finding better lives abroad. Although the passage on the cramped, dank ships caused many to arrive in the New World diseased and starving, those families that survived the trip often went on to make valuable contributions to those new societies to which they arrived. Early immigrants bearing the Claxton surname or a spelling variation of the name include:

Claxton Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Abraham Claxton who settled in Bermuda in 1635
Edward Claxton, who landed in Maryland in 1639 3
Bryan Claxton, who arrived in Maryland in 1669 3

Claxton Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Richard Claxton, who arrived in Virginia in 1704 3
John and Sarah Claxton, who settled in Maryland in 1739
John Claxton, who arrived in Maryland in 1740 3
George Claxton, who settled in New England in 1767

Claxton Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

William Claxton, who landed in New York in 1845 3

Claxton migration to Australia +

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

Claxton Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mr. Charles Claxton, British convict who was convicted in Middlesex, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Asia" on 29th September 1831, settling in New South Wales, Australia 4
Robert Claxton, aged 20, who arrived in South Australia in 1850 aboard the ship "Trafalgar" 5

Claxton 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:

Claxton Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Mr. Nathaniel Claxton, British settler travelling from London aboard the ship "Harwood" arriving in Auckland, New Zealand on 4th November 1858 6
Miss Claxton, British settler travelling from London aboard the ship "Warrior Queen" arriving in Port Chalmers, Dunedin, Otago, South Island, New Zealand on 1st January 1874 7
William Claxton, aged 38, a tailor, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Waitangi" in 1874
Hannah Claxton, aged 36, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Waitangi" in 1874
Rebecca Claxton, aged 8, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Waitangi" in 1874
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Contemporary Notables of the name Claxton (post 1700) +

Francis S. Claxton, American politician, U.S. Consul in Moscow, 1857-61 8
E. C. Claxton, American Democratic Party politician, Chair of Wright County Democratic Party, 1939 8
B. A. Claxton, American Democratic Party politician, Candidate for Missouri State House of Representatives from Wright County, 1936 8
William Claxton (1927-2008), American photographer
Thomas Claxton (1790-1813), American officer in the United States Navy during the War of 1812, eponym USS Claxton (DD-140) and USS Claxton (DD-571)
Craig "Speedy" Claxton (b. 1978), American basketball player
Rozelle Claxton (1913-1995), American jazz pianist
Philander Claxton (1862-1957), American educator, United States Commissioner of Education
Kate Claxton (1848-1924), born Kate Elizabeth Cone, American actress
Jimmy Claxton (1892-1970), Canadian Afro-American baseball pitcher
... (Another 8 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Citations +

Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
"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 12th January 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/asia/1831
State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) TRAFALGAR 1850. Retrieved http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1850Trafalgar-March.htm
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 17th October 2018). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 26th March 2019). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2016, January 29) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html