Napleton History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Scotland

The ancient history of the Napleton name begins with the ancient Anglo-Saxon tribes of Britain. The name is derived from when the family resided near an orchard or a homestead where apples were grown. The Old English word for orchard is æppeltun, which is a compound word formed from æppel, which means apple, and tun, which means enclosure. The surname may also be derived from residency near the various settlements called Appleton in Cheshire, Kent, and Yorkshire, among other places.

Early Origins of the Napleton family

The surname Napleton was first found in Lancashire at Widness with Appleton, a township, in the parish and union of Prescot, hundred of West Derby. The estate of Widness with Appleton was once held by the family but was lost under tragic circumstances. "Appleton gave name to an ancient family, the last of whom left two children under the guardianship of one Hawarden, who was reported to have murdered them. The estate afterwards belonged to the Gellibrands, who succeeded the Hawardens." 1

Some of the first records of the name include John de Appelton who represented York in the parliament in the reign of Edward II and William Appleton who was sheriff of that city in the reign of James II. 2

The Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 include: Thomas de Appelton in Oxfordshire; and Wydo de Appelton in Yorkshire. The Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379 list Willelmus de Appilton. 3

Further north in Scotland, one of the first records there was Robert de Aplinden or Aplintoune in Annandale who forfeited his lands in the reign of Robert Bruce. Later Robert de Aplinton or Appylton had a charter of land in the burgh of Invemys from Robert II in 1378. 4

Early History of the Napleton family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Napleton research. Another 80 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1650 and 1654 are included under the topic Early Napleton History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Napleton Spelling Variations

Until quite recently, the English language has lacked a definite system of spelling rules. Consequently, Anglo-Saxon surnames are characterized by a multitude of spelling variations. Changes in Anglo-Saxon names were influenced by the evolution of the English language, as it incorporated elements of French, Latin, and other languages. Although Medieval scribes and church officials recorded names as they sounded, so it is common to find one person referred to by several different spellings of his surname, even the most literate people varied the spelling of their own names. Variations of the name Napleton include Appleton, Apelton, Apleton, Appletown, Apylton and others.

Early Notables of the Napleton family

Distinguished members of the family include Henry Appleton (fl. 1650-1654), English captain in the navy and commodore. He was a townsman and presumably a native of Hull; but his name does not appear in any list of naval officers during the civil...
Another 42 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Napleton Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Napleton migration to the United States +

Searching for a better life, many English families migrated to British colonies. Unfortunately, the majority of them traveled under extremely harsh conditions: overcrowding on the ships caused the majority of the immigrants to arrive diseased, famished, and destitute from the long journey across the ocean. For those families that arrived safely, modest prosperity was attainable, and many went on to make invaluable contributions to the development of the cultures of the new colonies. Research into the origins of individual families in North America revealed records of the immigration of a number of people bearing the name Napleton or a variant listed above:

Napleton Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Jacob Napleton, who arrived in Virginia in 1649 5

Napleton 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. 6

Napleton Settlers in West Indies in the 18th Century

Thomas Napleton, who landed in Barbados in 1717 5

Citations +

Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
Guppy, Henry Brougham, Homes of Family Names in Great Britain. 1890. Print.
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)
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)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies