Winstown History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Ireland

Winstown is an ancient Norman name that arrived in England after the Norman Conquest of 1066. The name Winstown comes from the Old English personal name Wynstan. That name is derived from the Old English elements wyn, meaning joy, and stan, meaning stone.

Early Origins of the Winstown family

The surname Winstown was first found in Gloucestershire where they are conjecturally descended from Ansfrid de Cormeiles, a Norman knight from the Abbey of Cormeiles in Normandy.

Early History of the Winstown family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Winstown research. Another 66 words (5 lines of text) covering the years 1556, 1576, 1602 and 1655 are included under the topic Early Winstown History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Winstown Spelling Variations

Anglo-Norman names are characterized by a multitude of spelling variations. When the Normans became the ruling people of England in the 11th century, they introduced a new language into a society where the main languages of Old and later Middle English had no definite spelling rules. These languages were more often spoken than written, so they blended freely with one another. Contributing to this mixing of tongues was the fact that medieval scribes spelled words according to sound, ensuring that a person's name would appear differently in nearly every document in which it was recorded. The name has been spelled Winston, Winstone and others.

Early Notables of the Winstown family

Another 42 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Winstown Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Winstown family to Ireland

Some of the Winstown family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 61 words (4 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 Winstown family

For many English families, the political and religious disarray that plagued their homeland made the frontiers of the New World an attractive prospect. Thousands migrated, aboard cramped disease-ridden ships. They arrived sick, poor, and hungry, but were welcomed in many cases with far greater opportunity than at home in England. Many of these hardy settlers went on to make important contributions to the emerging nations in which they landed. Among early immigrants bearing the name Winstown or a variant listed above were: John Winston settled in Virginia in 1663; Nicholas Winston settled in Barbados in 1654; Stephen Winston settled in Boston in 1716; Thomas Winston settled in Maryland in 1725..