Show ContentsShingleton History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

In ancient Anglo-Saxon England, the ancestors of the Shingleton surname lived in the village of Singleton found in the counties of Lancashire and Sussex. The surname Shingleton is a habitation surname which was originally derived from pre-exiting names for towns, villages, parishes, or farmsteads. The literal meaning of the surname Shingleton is farm in the burnt clearing from the Old English word sengel. [1]

Early Origins of the Shingleton family

The surname Shingleton was first found in Lancashire at Singleton-in-the-Fylde (Singleton), a chapelry, in the parish of Kirkham, union of the Fylde, hundred of Amounderness or in Sussex at Singleton, a parish, in the union of West Hampnett, hundred of Westbourn and Singleton.

The Lancashire chapelry seems to point to the family's origin as in "Singleton (Lancashire) is mentioned in the Domesday Survey, and was once the property of a family of the local name" [2] and "a parish in Sussex, and a chapelry in Lancashire. The latter was long possessed by a very ancient family. " [3]

The chapelry was recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 as Singletun [4] and in 1185 as Sengelton. [1] The township of Thornley cum Wheatley in Lancashire was once held by the family. "Thomas, Earl of Derby, in the 14th of Henry VII., purchased the manor of Thornley-cum-Wheatley from Charles Singleton." [2]

Warton in Lancashire was also an early home of the family. "In the 7th of Henry VIII. the manor of Warton was held by Richard Singleton, of Broughton Tower." [2]

Early History of the Shingleton family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Shingleton research. Another 76 words (5 lines of text) covering the years 1543, 1544, 1618, 1637, 1640, 1677 and 1890 are included under the topic Early Shingleton History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Shingleton Spelling Variations

It is only in the last few hundred years that the English language has been standardized. For that reason, early Anglo-Saxon surnames like Shingleton are characterized by many spelling variations. As the English language changed and incorporated elements of other European languages, even literate people changed the spelling of their names. The variations of the name Shingleton include: Singleton, Singleturn, Shingleton and others.

Early Notables of the Shingleton family

Notables of this surname at this time include: Robert or John Singleton (d. 1544), an English Roman Catholic divine who belonged to a Lancashire family and was educated at Oxford, but does not appear to have graduated. "He became a priest, and for some utterances which were accounted treasonable was brought...
Another 51 words (4 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Shingleton Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Shingleton Ranking

In the United States, the name Shingleton is the 15,668th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. [5]

Ireland Migration of the Shingleton family to Ireland

Some of the Shingleton family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 84 words (6 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.


United States Shingleton migration to the United States +

Many English families tired of political and religious strife left Britain for the new colonies in North America. Although the trip itself offered no relief - conditions on the ships were extremely cramped, and many travelers arrived diseased, starving, and destitute - these immigrants believed the opportunities that awaited them were worth the risks. Once in the colonies, many of the families did indeed prosper and, in turn, made significant contributions to the culture and economies of the growing colonies. An inquiry into the early roots of North American families has revealed a number of immigrants bearing the name Shingleton or a variant listed above:

Shingleton Settlers in United States in the 17th Century
  • Edmond Shingleton, who arrived in Maryland in 1658 [6]
Shingleton Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • Harriet Shingleton, aged 64, who settled in America, in 1894
Shingleton Settlers in United States in the 20th Century
  • Helena Shingleton, aged 41, who landed in America from London, in 1904
  • William Shingleton, aged 19, who landed in America from Hunton M Wells, England, in 1910
  • Sophia Shingleton, aged 17, who immigrated to America from Walton Somerset, England, in 1913
  • Caroline Shingleton, aged 19, who immigrated to the United States from Wookey, England, in 1913
  • Mary Shingleton, aged 24, who immigrated to the United States from London, England, in 1914
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

New Zealand Shingleton 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:

Shingleton Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century
  • Alfred Shingleton, aged 23, a plasterer, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Collingwood" in 1875

Contemporary Notables of the name Shingleton (post 1700) +

  • William E. Shingleton, American Democratic Party politician, Member of West Virginia State House of Delegates; Elected 1972, 1974 [7]
  • Vickie Shingleton, American Democratic Party politician, Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Kansas, 1984 [7]
  • Paul Shingleton, American politician, Mayor of Kenova, West Virginia, 1949-51 [7]
  • P. D. Shingleton, American Democratic Party politician, Adjutant General of West Virginia, 1933-35 [7]
  • Wilfred Shingleton (1914-1983), English Academy Award winning art director


  1. Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
  2. Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
  3. Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
  4. Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
  5. "What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
  6. 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)
  7. The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, October 22) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html


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