Thorneton History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Scotland
Ireland

The Thorneton surname is habitational name from any of the numerous places throughout England and Scotland; for example, the parish of Thornton in the county of Yorkshire. These place names derive from the Old English words "thorn," meaning "thorn bushes" and "tun," meaning "enclosure" or "town."

Early Origins of the Thorneton family

The surname Thorneton was first found in the Mearns, also known as Kincardineshire (Gaelic: A' Mhaoirne), a former county on the northeast coast of the Grampian region of Scotland, and part of the Aberdeenshire Council Area since 1996.

One of the first records of the name was Laurence de Thorneton in C. 1204-1211, who was witness to a deed by Henry, abbot of Arbroath. A few years later, John of Thornton, burgess of Montrose, and Johan de Thomtone of the county of Kincardyn en Miernes, rendered homage to King Edward I in 1296. A few years later in 1299, Walter de Thorneton, was a Scottish prisoner of war, who was exchanged for an esquire of Sir William de Cathecart. 1

Further to the south in England, or more specifically Yorkshire, "the explanation of so many Thorntons in the Yorkshire directories lies in the fact that there are at least three Thorntons in that county including Thornton-in-Craven, and Thornton-in-Lonsdale. " 2

The Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 confirmed the Yorkshire existence of the family there at that time (Hugh de Thorneton and Richard de Thorneton but also included a lone Cambridgeshire listing: Roger de Thoratone. 2

Another source confirms the Yorkshire significance: "Yorkshire abounds with places so called. Thorne appears to have been an old Anglo-Saxon personal name; and hence Thornton may mean the homestead of Thorne." 3

Early History of the Thorneton family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Thorneton research. Another 162 words (12 lines of text) covering the years 1272, 1296, 1329, 1398, 1399, 1425, 1455, 1491, 1554 and 1890 are included under the topic Early Thorneton History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Thorneton Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Thornton, Thornten, Thorneton, Thorntoun and many more.

Early Notables of the Thorneton family

Another 30 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Thorneton Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Thorneton family to Ireland

Some of the Thorneton family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 86 words (6 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Thorneton migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Thorneton Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Rich Thorneton, who landed in Virginia in 1637 4
Thomas Thorneton, who arrived in Virginia in 1637 4
Edward Thorneton, who settled in Virginia in 1663
Ginett Thorneton, who arrived in Maryland in 1680 4

Thorneton Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Eliz Thorneton, who landed in Virginia in 1704 4

Citations +

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)
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.
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)