Show ContentsHistin History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Early Origins of the Histin family

The surname Histin 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 Histin family

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

Histin Spelling Variations

Before English spelling was standardized a few hundred years ago, spelling variations of names were a common occurrence. Elements of Latin, French and other languages became incorporated into English through the Middle Ages, and name spellings changed even among the literate. The variations of the surname Histin include Heston, Hesdon, Hesdin, Hestin, Histon, Histin and others.

Early Notables of the Histin 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 Histin Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Histin family

A great wave of immigration to the New World was the result of the enormous political and religious disarray that struck England at that time. Families left for the New World in extremely large numbers. The long journey was the end of many immigrants and many more arrived sick and starving. Still, those who made it were rewarded with an opportunity far greater than they had known at home in England. These emigrant families went on to make significant contributions to these emerging colonies in which they settled. Some of the first North American settlers carried this name or one of its variants: 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


Houseofnames.com on Facebook