Aiton History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms
Early Origins of the Aiton family
The surname Aiton was first found in the county of Berwickshire, where Ayton is a small town "which takes its name from the water of Eye, on the banks of which it is situated, is intimately connected with important transactions of early times. It was formerly dependent on the monastery of Coldingham, as appears from charters belonging to that establishment, upon the settlement of which, between the years 1098 and 1107, under the auspices of King Edgar, that monarch made them several grants, including "Eytun" and "aliam Eytun," the latter being Nether Ayton, on the opposite side of the river." 1
One of the first records of the name was William de Eytone who rendered homage to King Edward I in 1296. 2
Early History of the Aiton family
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Aiton research. Another 252 words (18 lines of text) covering the years 1170, 1296, 1440, 1460, 1488, 1513, 1570, 1638, 1644, 1672, 1734, 1764, 1777, 1801, 1813, 1826, 1837, 1851 and 1887 are included under the topic Early Aiton History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Aiton Spelling Variations
Although the name, Aiton, appeared in many references, from time to time, the surname was shown with the spellings Aiton, Ayton, Aytoun and others.
Early Notables of the Aiton family
Notable amongst the family name during their early history was Sir Robert Ayton or Aytoun (1570-1638), English poet, who was also a private secretary to the queens of James I and Charles I. He "was a descendant of the Norman house of De Vescy, lords of Sprouston in Northumberland. Gilbert de Vescy, a younger son of the family, settled in Scotland in the reign of King Robert Bruce, having received from him the lands of Aytoun in Berwickshire. Thereupon he changed his name to that of his estate. " 3
"In Berwickshire the Aytouns continued as landowners until James III (1460-1488), when...
Another 108 words (8 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Aiton Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Aiton migration to the United States +
Gradually becoming disenchanted with life in Ireland many of these uprooted families sailed aboard the armada of sailing ships known as the "White Sails" which plied the stormy Atlantic. These overcrowded ships often arrived with only 60 to 70% of their original passenger list, many dying of cholera, typhoid, dysentery or small pox. In North America, some of the first immigrants who could be considered kinsmen of the Aiton family name Aiton, or who bore a variation of the surname were
Aiton Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
- Thomas Aiton, aged 34, who arrived in North Carolina in 1812 4
- William Aiton, aged 26, who landed in America from London, in 1892
Aiton Settlers in United States in the 20th Century
- Letetia Aiton, aged 45, who immigrated to America from Ayr, Scotland, in 1912
- Francis S. Aiton, aged 41, who immigrated to the United States, in 1912
- Clyde Aiton, who settled in America, in 1920
- Robert Scott Aiton, aged 35, who landed in America from Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1921
- Walter Hill Aiton, aged 26, who immigrated to the United States from Glasgow, Scotland, in 1923
- ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)
Contemporary Notables of the name Aiton (post 1700) +
- George Wilson Aiton (1890-1976), American Major League Baseball player
- William Townsend Aiton FRHS FLS (1766-1849), English botanist, one of the founders and an active fellow of the Royal Horticultural Society, eldest son of William Aiton 5
- William Aiton (1760-1847), Scottish law agent, agriculturalist and sheriff-substitute of the county of Lanark 5
- William Aiton (1731-1793), Scottish botanist, born at a small village near Hamilton, Lanarkshire, and brought up as a gardener 5
- John Aiton (1797-1863), Scottish religious writer, the youngest son of William Aiton, a sheriff-substitute of Lanarkshire 5
- Norah Aiton (1903-1988), British architect who was an early proponent of the modernist style, co-founder of Aiton & Scott
- Paul Aiton (b. 1985), Papua New Guinean rugby league player
- Zebulon Aiton Lash (1846-1920), Canadian lawyer, civil servant, and businessman
Citations +
- Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
- 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)
- Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. 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)
- Wikisource contributors. "Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900." Wikisource . Wikisource , 4 Jun. 2018. Web. 17 Apr. 2019