Thornten History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Scotland
Ireland

The Thornten 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 Thornten family

The surname Thornten 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 Thornten family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Thornten 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 Thornten History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Thornten Spelling Variations

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

Early Notables of the Thornten family

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

Migration of the Thornten family to Ireland

Some of the Thornten 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.

Migration of the Thornten family

Some of the first settlers of this family name or some of its variants were: James Thornton who arrived in Maryland in 1633; Joanna Thornton settled in New England with her husband Walter and Robert her son in 1635; Mary Thornton settled in New York in 1705..

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.