Sten History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Netherlands
England
Sweden

The name Sten first arose amongst the Anglo-Saxon tribes of Britain. It is derived from their having lived in the parish of Staines in the counties of Middlesex and Surrey. The latter appears in the Domesday Book 1 as "Stanes" derived from the Old English word "stan" and meant "place at the stones". 2

One of the first records of the name was Sir William Staine who married into the Yarboroughs of Heslington Hall about the year 1100.

Early Origins of the Sten family

The surname Sten was first found in Middlesex at Staines, a market-town and parish, and the head of a union, in the hundred of Spelthorne. 3 4 5 6

Staines-upon-Thames, commonly referred to simply as Staines, is a town on the River Thames in the borough of Spelthorne in Surrey (in the historic county of Middlesex.)

Early records also revealed Richard of Staines (or Richard de Stanes) (d. 1277), a English clerical judge who acted as an Itinerant Justice, then was appointed justice of the Court of King's Bench in 1209 and finally Lord Chief Justice in 1269.

Later Yorkshire was a place of note to the family. They may have given their name to a number of places in Yorkshire including several Staintons, Stainland, Stainforth or Stainburn.

The Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 include: Richard de Stanes in Kent 4 and later William de Staines, Kent, Henry III- Edward I (during the reign from Henry III-Edward I) 7

Over in Norfolk, William de Stanes, was rector of Welborne, Norfolk in 1328. 8

Early History of the Sten family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Sten research. Another 79 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1613, 1640, 1665, 1725, 1776, 1789, 1792, 1795, 1796, 1798, 1799, 1802, 1803, 1804, 1805 and 1830 are included under the topic Early Sten History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Sten 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 Sten has appeared include Stain, Staine, Staines, Stane, Stanes, Stayn and others.

Early Notables of the Sten family

Distinguished members of the family include

Sir Thomas Staines of Thanet; and Peter Stent (c. 1613-1665), from the early 1640s until his death, he was one of the largest printsellers in London. He died in the Great Plague of London and his busi...

Sten 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 Sten arrived in North America very early:

Sten Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Hans Lenar Sten, who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1733
Hans Lenar Sten, aged 21, who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1733 9
Johan Georg Sten, who landed in Pennsylvania in 1754 9

Contemporary Notables of the name Sten (post 1700) +

Sten Torgny Söderberg (1944-2022), Swedish songwriter, known for working with Lena Philipsson
Sten Staffan Skott (1943-2021), Swedish journalist, author and translator who wrote extensively on the history of Russia and the Soviet Union
Sten Lundin (1931-2016), Swedish professional motocross racer, winner of the F.I.M. 500cc Motocross World Championship in 1959
Sten Torgny Söderberg (b. 1944), Swedish songwriter
Sten Bergman (1895-1975), Swedish zoologist
Sten Gester, Actor

Citations +

Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, 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)
Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
Guppy, Henry Brougham, Homes of Family Names in Great Britain. 1890. Print.
Testa de Nevill or "Liber Feodorum" or "Book of Fees," thought to have been written by Ralph de Nevill, for King John (1199–1216)
Rye, Walter, A History of Norfolk. London: Elliot Stock, 62, Paternoster Row, 1885. Print
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)