Contents [hide]

Littleton History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

Ireland United States Australia West Indies

Contemporary Notables Related Stories Motto Citations

Littleton History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Ireland

The ancestry of the name Littleton dates from the ancient Anglo-Saxon culture of Britain. It comes from when the family lived in one of the many places called Littleton throughout England. The surname Littleton belongs to the large category of Anglo-Saxon habitation names, which are derived from pre-existing names for towns, villages, parishes, or farmsteads.

Alternatively, the name could have of Norman origin as one source claims the name "appears to be a branch of the De Vautort, or Valletort, from Vautort, Maine, of which Reginald, Hugh, and Goisfried de Valletort came to England in 1066." 1

Early Origins of the Littleton family

The surname Littleton was first found in Worcestershire where "the name is derived from a place in the Vale of Evesham, where the ancestors of this family in the female line were seated before the reign of Richard I." 2

"The celebrated jurist, Sir Thomas Lyttelton, who had three sons, whose posterity were elevate to the peerage in each line, sprang maternally from Thomas de Luttelton, of co. Worcester, temp. Henry III. The surname probably originated at one of the several places called Littleton, in that county." 3

Sir Edward Littleton (c.1599- c.1657) was the first of four Littleton Baronets. His seat was Pillaton Hall in Staffordshire. He also held a manor in Tiddesley-Hay. "This was a royal chase, adjoining that of Cannock, till the reign of Elizabeth, who granted it jointly to the Earls of Warwick and Leicester, by whom it was sold to Sir Edward Littleton, of Pillaton Hall." 4

Humphrey and Stephen Littleton, (or Lyttelton) who both died on 7 April 1606 were probably the most infamous members of the family. Both were both executed for their involvement in the Gunpowder plot.

Early History of the Littleton family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Littleton research. Another 92 words (7 lines of text) covering the years 1130, 1407, 1415, 1481, 1561, 1570, 1571, 1584, 1589, 1593, 1599, 1601, 1608, 1615, 1620, 1621, 1624, 1626, 1640, 1644, 1645, 1647, 1650, 1660, 1661, 1670, 1678, 1679, 1681, 1693, 1698, 1700 and 1709 are included under the topic Early Littleton History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Littleton Spelling Variations

Spelling variations in names were a common occurrence before English spelling was standardized a few hundred years ago. In the Middle Ages, even the literate spelled their names differently as the English language incorporated elements of French, Latin, and other European languages. Many variations of the name Littleton have been found, including Littleton, Lyttleton and others.

Early Notables of the Littleton family

Notables of the family at this time include

Sir Thomas de Littleton (1407-1481), an English judge and legal author
Sir Thomas Littleton (c. 1415-1481), an English jurist
Edward Littleton, 1st Baron Lyttleton (Littelton) (1589-1645), from Munslow in Shropshire, Chief Justice of North Wales
Sir Timothy Littleton (c.1608-1679), an English judge and politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1660 and 1670, Member of Parliament for Ludlow
Sir Thomas Littleton, 2nd Baronet (c.1621-1681), Member of Parliament for Wenlock (1640-1644), (1661-1679)

Littleton Ranking

In the United States, the name Littleton is the 3,050^th most popular surname with an estimated 9,948 people with that name. 5

Migration of the Littleton family to Ireland

Some of the Littleton family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 65 words (5 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Littleton migration to the United States +

Families began migrating abroad in enormous numbers because of the political and religious discontent in England. Often faced with persecution and starvation in England, the possibilities of the New World attracted many English people. Although the ocean trips took many lives, those who did get to North America were instrumental in building the necessary groundwork for what would become for new powerful nations. Some of the first immigrants to cross the Atlantic and come to North America bore the name Littleton, or a variant listed above:

Littleton Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

George Littleton, who settled in Virginia in 1649
Geo Littleton, who arrived in Virginia in 1649 6
Anne Littleton, who arrived in Virginia in 1652 6
George Littleton, who landed in Virginia in 1653 6
Ann Littleton, who landed in Virginia in 1654 6
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Littleton Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Chr Littleton, who landed in Virginia in 1714 6
Joseph Littleton, who settled in Virginia in 1765
Thomas Littleton, who arrived in Bermuda in 1767 6

Littleton Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

James Littleton, who arrived in Mobile, Ala in 1851 6
Mr. F.L. Littleton, (b. 1872), aged 21, Cornish carpenter, from Liskeard, Cornwall, UK travelling aboard the ship "Teutonic" arriving at Ellis Island, New York on 27th April 1893 en route to New York, USA 7

Littleton migration to Australia +

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

Littleton Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mrs. Anne Littleton, (Lawler), (b. 1812), aged 25, Irish needle woman who was convicted in Limerick, Ireland for 7 years for stealing, transported aboard the "Diamond" on 29th November 1837, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 8
Jacob Littleton, aged 43, a labourer, who arrived in South Australia in 1851 aboard the ship "Ascendant" 9
Jacob Littleton, aged 43, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "The Ascendant" in 1851 9
Jane Littleton, aged 39, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "The Ascendant" in 1851 9
Mary Littleton, aged 17, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "The Ascendant" in 1851 9
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Littleton migration to West Indies +

The British first settled the British West Indies around 1604. They made many attempts but failed in some to establish settlements on the Islands including Saint Lucia and Grenada. By 1627 they had managed to establish settlements on St. Kitts (St. Christopher) and Barbados, but by 1641 the Spanish had moved in and destroyed some of these including those at Providence Island. The British continued to expand the settlements including setting the First Federation in the British West Indies by 1674; some of the islands include Barbados, Bermuda, Cayman Island, Turks and Caicos, Jamaica and Belize then known as British Honduras. By the 1960's many of the islands became independent after the West Indies Federation which existed from 1958 to 1962 failed due to internal political conflicts. After this a number of Eastern Caribbean islands formed a free association. 10

Littleton Settlers in West Indies in the 17th Century

Edward Littleton, who settled in Barbados with his servants in 1679

Contemporary Notables of the name Littleton (post 1700) +

Wes Avi Littleton (b. 1982), American former Major League Baseball right-handed relief pitcher who played for the Texas Rangers (2006-2008)
Peggy "Peg" Littleton, American politician, County Commissioner for Colorado Springs, Colorado (2011-)
Martin Wiley Littleton (1872-1934), American attorney and politician, Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New York's 1st district (1911-1913), Borough President of Brooklyn (1904-1905)
Larry Marvin Littleton (b. 1954), American former Major League Baseball outfielder who played for the Cleveland Indians during the 1981 baseball season
Herbert A. Littleton (1930-1951), United States Marine who posthumously received the Medal of Honor for smothering an enemy grenade with his body during the Korean War
Harvey Littleton (1922-2013), American glass artist and educator from Corning, New York; his father was head of Research and Development at Corning Glass Works during the 1930s
Garry Allen "Colonel" Littleton (b. 1943), American fashion designer and business proprietor, founder of The Great American Leather Company in 1987
Carol Littleton (b. 1948), American feature film editor, best known for her work on Body Heat (1981), E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982), and The Big Chill (1983)
Covington Scott Littleton (1933-2010), American anthropologist and academic
Benjamin Horsley Littleton (1889-1966), American jurist, judge of the United States Court of Claims
... (Another 8 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

The Littleton Motto +

The motto was originally a war cry or slogan. Mottoes first began to be shown with arms in the 14th and 15th centuries, but were not in general use until the 17th century. Thus the oldest coats of arms generally do not include a motto. Mottoes seldom form part of the grant of arms: Under most heraldic authorities, a motto is an optional component of the coat of arms, and can be added to or changed at will; many families have chosen not to display a motto.

Motto: Ung Dieu et ung roy
Motto Translation: One God and one King.

Citations +

The Norman People and Their Existing Descendants in the British Dominions and the United States Of America. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing, 1975. Print. (ISBN 0-8063-0636-X)
Shirley, Evelyn Philip, The Noble and Gentle Men of England; The Arms and Descents. Westminster: John Bower Nichols and Sons, 1866, Print.
Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
"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)
Cornwall Online Parish Clerks. (Retrieved 3rd May 2018). Retrieved from http://www.opc-cornwall.org/Resc/pdfs/emigration_ellis_island_1892_on.pdf
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 1st July 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/Diamond
State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) The ASCENDANT 1851. Retrieved http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1851Ascendant.htm
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies