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Lydon History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

Contemporary Notables Historic Events Related Stories Citations

Lydon History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Ireland

The ancient roots of the Lydon family name are in the Anglo-Saxon culture. The name Lydon comes from when the family lived in Litton, found in Derbyshire, Somerset, West Riding of Yorkshire and Dorset. 1 The Somerset parish is the oldest dating back to Saxon times when it was known as Hyltton c. 1060. The following dates apply for the rest: Litun, 1086 (Derbyshire); Litone, 1086 (Yorkshire); Lideton, 1204 (Dorset.) 2 Of course the 1086 date refers to their entry in the Domesday Book. 3

It is generally thought that the place names mean "farmstead on a slope," from the Old English "hlith" + "tun." 2

Early Origins of the Lydon family

The surname Lydon was first found in Cheshire where Gamel de Litton was registered in 1175. Years later, Henry de Lideton was registered in the Dorset in 1212 and Thomas de Lytton was in the Subsidy Rolls for Derbyshire in 1327. 4

The Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 included: Hugh de Litton, Northamptonshire; and Symon de Litton, Somerset. 5

Early History of the Lydon family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Lydon research. Another 79 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1562, 1581, 1586, 1611, 1615, 1640, 1648, 1660 and 1674 are included under the topic Early Lydon History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Lydon Spelling Variations

One relatively recent invention that did much to standardize English spelling was the printing press. However, before its invention even the most literate people recorded their names according to sound rather than spelling. The spelling variations under which the name Lydon has appeared include Lytton, Litton and others.

Early Notables of the Lydon family

Notables of the family at this time include Sir Robert Lytton of Derbyshire; Sir Roland Lytton (ca. 1562-1615) (also Rowland Litton), an English lawyer and politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1586 and 1611; Sir William...
Another 39 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Lydon Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Lydon Ranking

In the United States, the name Lydon is the 8,275^th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 6

Lydon migration to the United States +

At this time, the shores of the New World beckoned many English families that felt that the social climate in England was oppressive and lacked opportunity for change. Thousands left England at great expense in ships that were overcrowded and full of disease. A great portion of these settlers never survived the journey and even a greater number arrived sick, starving, and without a penny. The survivors, however, were often greeted with greater opportunity than they could have experienced back home. These English settlers made significant contributions to those colonies that would eventually become the United States and Canada. An examination of early immigration records and passenger ship lists revealed that people bearing the name Lydon arrived in North America very early:

Lydon Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

John Lydon, who landed in Arkansas in 1876 7

Lydon Settlers in United States in the 20th Century

John Lydon, aged 53, who arrived in New York City, New York in 1919 aboard the ship "Cedric" from Liverpool, England 8
Patrick Lydon, aged 30, who arrived in New York in 1919 aboard the ship "Pollux" from Caibarien, Cuba 8
Peter Lydon, aged 26, who arrived in New York in 1919 aboard the ship "Phidias" from Liverpool, England 8
Patrick Joseph Lydon, aged 20, originally from Ireland, Galway, who arrived in New York in 1919 aboard the ship "Adriatic" from Southampton, England 8
Peter Lydon, who arrived in New York in 1919 aboard the ship "Phidias" from Buenos Aires, Argentina 8
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Lydon 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:

Lydon Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Mr. Michael Lydon, British settler, as the 2nd Detachment of New Zealand Corps of Royal New Zealand Fencibles travelling from Gravesend aboard the ship "Minerva" arriving in Auckland, New Zealand on 8th October 1847 9
Martin Lydon, aged 21, a farm labourer, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Zealandia" in 1879

Contemporary Notables of the name Lydon (post 1700) +

James J. Lydon (1923-2022), American actor and television producer whose career began as a teenager during the 1930s
William A. Lydon (1863-1918), American founder of the Great Lakes Dredge and Dock Company
Wayne Lydon (b. 1981), American professional baseball outfielder
Joseph Patrick Lydon (1878-1937), American sliver and bronze Olympic medalist for welterweight boxing and football at the 1904 games 10
Joe Lydon (1878-1937), American welterweight boxer
Jimmy Lydon (b. 1923), American movie actor and television producer
Christopher Lydon (b. 1940), American media personality and author
Alexandra Lydon (b. 1979), Irish and American television actress
William R. Lydon, American Democratic Party politician, Candidate in primary for Michigan State Senate 18th District, 1944 11
Thomas E. Lydon Jr., American politician, U.S. Attorney for South Carolina, 1977-81 11
... (Another 7 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Historic Events for the Lydon family +

Monongah Mine

Mr. Timothy Lydon (b. 1869), Italian coal miner who was in mine 6 at the Monongah mine on 6th December 1907 when it exploded and collapsed; he died 12

Citations +

Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
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)
"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)
Ellis Island Search retrieved 15th November 2022. Retrieved from https://heritage.statueofliberty.org/passenger-result
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 17th October 2018). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
Athletes - Famous Olympic Athletes, Medalists, Sports Heroes. (Retrieved 2011, April 13) Joseph Lydon. Retrieved from http://www.olympic.org/content/olympic-athletes/generic-athlete-page/?athleteid=57464
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, November 3) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
Monongah Mining Disaster retrieved on 8th August 2021. (Retrieved fromhttps://usminedisasters.miningquiz.com/saxsewell/monongah.htm).