Gadan History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Scotland

The Anglo-Saxon name Gadan comes from the family having resided in the area of Cheshire that was referred to as the hill of Gaega, Gaega being an Anglo-Saxon personal name. Gadan 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.

Another source notes the name could have been a local name having derived from the Viking "geit" + "tun," and literally meant "farmstead where the goats are kept." 1

Early Origins of the Gadan family

The surname Gadan was first found in Lincolnshire where three of the earliest records of the family were listed. The first was Robert de Geiton who was listed there in the Pipe Rolls of 1193 2, the second and third were Ralph de Gayton and Richard de Gayton, both listed there in the Hundredorum Rolls of 1273. 3

Much further to the north in Scotland, Geoffrey de Gaytun was Burgess of Aberdeen in 1275 and Galfridus dictus de Gaytun, appears as a charter witness there in 1231, but this source notes that the name was "of English origin from one or other of several places of the name in England." 4 A migration to Scotland must be presumed.

We discovered a township in Cheshire, a parish in Norfolk; a parish in Northamptonshire; a parish in Staffordshire; and two parishes in Lincolnshire all named Gayton. The Norfolk, Staffordshire and Lincolnshire parishes are listed in the Domesday Book of 1086 as Gaituna, Gaitone and Gettone respectively. 1 5

Early History of the Gadan family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Gadan research. Another 95 words (7 lines of text) covering the years 1200, 1273, 1317, 1608, 1666, 1720, 1744, 1745, 1747, 1754, 1755 and 1787 are included under the topic Early Gadan History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Gadan Spelling Variations

Gadan has been spelled many different ways. Before English spelling became standardized over the last few hundred years, spelling variations in names were a common occurrence. As the English language changed in the Middle Ages, absorbing pieces of Latin and French, as well as other languages, the spelling of people's names also changed considerably, even over a single lifetime. Spelling variants included: Gayton, Gaydon, Gaytun, Gaton and others.

Early Notables of the Gadan family

Notables of this surname at this time include: Edmund Gayton (1608-1666), English author, son of George Gayton of Little Britain, London; he was born there 30 Nov. 1608. 6 Clark Gayton (1720?-1787?), was a British admiral who after serving as a midshipman in the Squirrel with Captain Peter Warren on the coast of North America, and subsequently as a lieutenant in the West Indies, was promoted by Commodore Knowles to command the Bien Aimé storeship on 12 Aug. 1744. In July 1745...
Another 81 words (6 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Gadan Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Gadan family

In an attempt to escape the chaos experienced in England, many English families boarded overcrowded and diseased ships sailing for the shores of North America and other British colonies. Those families hardy enough, and lucky enough, to make the passage intact were rewarded with land and a social environment less prone to religious and political persecution. Many of these families became important contributors to the young colonies in which they settled. Early immigration and passenger lists have documented some of the first Gadans to arrive on North American shores: Richard Gayton settled in Barbados in 1680 with his servants; Roger Gayton arrived in Maryland in 1774.

Citations +

Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
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.
Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. Print