Huyton History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

The present generation of the Huyton family is only the most recent to bear a name that dates back to the ancient Anglo-Saxon culture of Britain. Their name comes from having lived in or near the settlement of Heighton in the county of Sussex. The surname is thought to derive from one of several place names composed of the old English elements "heah" or "high" and "tun," meaning "enclosure or settlement." The surname Huyton belongs to the large category of Anglo-Saxon habitation names, which are derived from pre-existing names for towns, villages, parishes, or farmsteads.

Early Origins of the Huyton family

The surname Huyton was first found in Sussex where the first record of the name is John atte Heghetun who was mentioned in the Subsidy Rolls for Sussex in 1296. Today Hightown is a village and civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside but originally part of Cheshire. 1 However, other references list Hightown in what was formerly Lancashire. "The Huytons of Billinge held land [in Skelmersdale, Lancashire] as early as 1307." 2

Early History of the Huyton family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Huyton research. Another 100 words (7 lines of text) covering the years 1273, 1279 and 1296 are included under the topic Early Huyton History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Huyton Spelling Variations

Until the dictionary, an invention of only the last few hundred years, the English language lacked any comprehensive system of spelling rules. Consequently, spelling variations in names are frequently found in early Anglo-Saxon and later Anglo-Norman documents. One person's name was often spelled several different ways over a lifetime. The recorded variations of Huyton include Heighton, Highton, Huyton and others.

Early Notables of the Huyton family

More information is included under the topic Early Huyton Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Huyton family

Thousands of English families boarded ships sailing to the New World in the hope of escaping the unrest found in England at this time. Although the search for opportunity and freedom from persecution abroad took the lives of many because of the cramped conditions and unsanitary nature of the vessels, the opportunity perceived in the growing colonies of North America beckoned. Many of the settlers who survived the journey went on to make important contributions to the transplanted cultures of their adopted countries. The Huyton were among these contributors, for they have been located in early North American records: William Heighton who settled in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1828; William Highton settled in Maryland in 1771.

Citations +

Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
'Townships: Scarisbrick', in A History of the County of Lancaster: Volume 3, ed. William Farrer and J Brownbill (London, 1907), pp. 265-276. British History Online http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/lancs/vol3/pp265-276 [accessed 21 January 2017].