Show ContentsPasten History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Early Origins of the Pasten family

The surname Pasten was first found in Norfolk at Paston, a village and civil parish held by Thorold from William de Warren, a Norman Baron, who was recorded in the Domesday Book census of 1086. At that time the place name was recorded as Pastuna and possibly meant "farmstead of a man called Paecci." Alternatively, the first element could have been derived from the Old English word paesce which meant "muddy place or pool." 1 Paston Hall was built by William Paston (1378-1444) and was rebuilt by Sir William Paston (1528-1610) after a fire. This has been the traditional home of the Paston family who are best known for the Paston Letters, a collection of correspondence between members of the family, and others associated with the family between 1422 and 1509. These documents now kept in the British Museum, the Bodleian Library, Oxford, at Magdalen College, Oxford, and at Pembroke College, Cambridge and provide a wealth of information of the life and times of the Paston family.

Early History of the Pasten family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Pasten research. Another 183 words (13 lines of text) covering the years 1043, 1202, 1378, 1404, 1419, 1421, 1442, 1444, 1466, 1479, 1487, 1510, 1515, 1545, 1552, 1554, 1578, 1586, 1597, 1600, 1609, 1631, 1641, 1642, 1651, 1666, 1673, 1679, 1683 and 1714 are included under the topic Early Pasten History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Pasten Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Paston, Pastone, Payston, Paiston, Passton and others.

Early Notables of the Pasten family

Outstanding amongst the family at this time was William Paston (1378-1444), an English judge from Paston on the coast of Norfolk, four miles from North Walsham. He was son of Clement Paston, who died on 17 June 1419. John Paston (1421-1466), was an English letter-writer and country gentleman, the eldest son of William Paston, the judge, born in 1421. After his father's death in 1444 he divided his time between his Norfolk estates and his London chambers in the Temple. Sir John Paston (1442-1479), was an English courtier and letter-writer, born in 1442, eldest son of John Paston (1421-1466.) Sir William Paston (1479-1554), was...
Another 115 words (8 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Pasten Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.


United States Pasten migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Pasten Settlers in United States in the 17th Century
  • John Pasten, who landed in America in 1654-1679 2


  1. Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
  2. 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)


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