Wooten History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms
The Anglo-Saxon name Wooten comes from when the family resided in the county of Kent. Their name, however, is derived from the Old English words wudu, meaning wood, and tun, meaning enclosure or settlement, and indicates that the original bearer of the name lived in a town by a wood. "Besides parishes in many counties, there are innumerable manors, hamlets, and single houses in England so called. The word is Anglo-Saxon, and signifies the woody enclosure." 1
There are numerous places named Wooton throughout Britain, the oldest is Wooton Bassett in Wiltshire that dates back to 680, followed by Wooton Wawen in Warwickshire that dates back to 716-37 and is obviously a Anglo-Saxon place name. 2
Early Origins of the Wooten family
The surname Wooten was first found in Kent where they held a family seat at Marlay, before and after the Norman Conquest in 1066. By the Hundredorum Rolls of 1273, the name was scattered throughout Britain as in Robert de Wottone and Thomas de Wodeton in Devon, Fredeshet de Wottone in Buckinghamshire, John atte Wodeton in London and John de Wodeton or John de Wutton in Oxfordshire. 3
"Wotton, [in the parish of Landrake, Cornwall] which was formerly a seat belonging to an ancient family of the same name, has been totally demolished; but the estate connected with the house was carried with the heiress of Wotton to a branch of the Courtenays, after which it passed in a similar manner to the family of Rowse. " 4
Early History of the Wooten family
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Wooten research. Another 87 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1489, 1497, 1521, 1541, 1548, 1551, 1567, 1568, 1582, 1587, 1604, 1607, 1616, 1618, 1620, 1628, 1630, 1639, 1669, 1682 and 1764 are included under the topic Early Wooten History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Wooten Spelling Variations
Before English spelling was standardized a few hundred years ago, spelling variations of names were a common occurrence. Elements of Latin, French and other languages became incorporated into English through the Middle Ages, and name spellings changed even among the literate. The variations of the surname Wooten include Wooton, Wootton, Wootten, Wooten, Wooter, Wouters and others.
Early Notables of the Wooten family
Notables of this surname at this time include: Nicholas Wotton (c. 1497-1567), an English diplomat, Ambassador to France during the reign of Mary, Dean of Canterbury (1541-1567); and his brother, Sir Edward Wotton (1489-1551), Treasurer of Calais and a privy councillor to Edward VI of England; Thomas Wotton (1521-1587), Sheriff of Kent; Thomas Wotton (1521-1587); and his son, Edward Wotton, 1st Baron Wotton (1548-1628), an English diplomat and administrator, Lord of...
Another 71 words (5 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Wooten Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Wooten Ranking
In the United States, the name Wooten is the 986th most popular surname with an estimated 29,844 people with that name. 5
Wooten migration to the United States +
A great wave of immigration to the New World was the result of the enormous political and religious disarray that struck England at that time. Families left for the New World in extremely large numbers. The long journey was the end of many immigrants and many more arrived sick and starving. Still, those who made it were rewarded with an opportunity far greater than they had known at home in England. These emigrant families went on to make significant contributions to these emerging colonies in which they settled. Some of the first North American settlers carried this name or one of its variants:
Wooten Settlers in United States in the 17th Century
- Richard Wooten, who settled in Virginia in 1642
Wooten Settlers in United States in the 18th Century
- Nicholas Wooten, who arrived in Virginia in 1711 6
Wooten Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
- Hannah Wooten, aged 70, who immigrated to the United States, in 1895
Wooten Settlers in United States in the 20th Century
- Elizabeth Wooten, who landed in America, in 1904
- C. E. Wooten, who immigrated to America, in 1904
- Hy O. Wooten, who landed in America, in 1908
- Louis Wooten, aged 28, who landed in America, in 1908
- Margaret Wooten, aged 2, who settled in America, in 1908
- ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)
Wooten migration to Canada +
Some of the first settlers of this family name were:
Wooten Settlers in Canada in the 20th Century
- Edith Elizabeth Wooten, aged 39, who immigrated to Toronto, Canada, in 1921
- Richard George Wooten, aged 54, who immigrated to Toronto, Canada, in 1921
- Stanley George Wooten, aged 4, who settled in Toronto, Canada, in 1921
Wooten migration to West Indies +
The British first settled the British West Indies around 1604. They made many attempts but failed in some to establish settlements on the Islands including Saint Lucia and Grenada. By 1627 they had managed to establish settlements on St. Kitts (St. Christopher) and Barbados, but by 1641 the Spanish had moved in and destroyed some of these including those at Providence Island. The British continued to expand the settlements including setting the First Federation in the British West Indies by 1674; some of the islands include Barbados, Bermuda, Cayman Island, Turks and Caicos, Jamaica and Belize then known as British Honduras. By the 1960's many of the islands became independent after the West Indies Federation which existed from 1958 to 1962 failed due to internal political conflicts. After this a number of Eastern Caribbean islands formed a free association.
7Wooten Settlers in West Indies in the 17th Century
- Robert Wooten, who settled in Barbados in 1694
Contemporary Notables of the name Wooten (post 1700) +
- Tito J. Wooten (b. 1971), American retired NFL football defensive back who played from 1994 to 1999
- William Shawn Wooten (b. 1972), American former Major League Baseball player who played from 2000 to 2005
- Roy Wilfred Wooten (b. 1957), American musician, best known by his stage name Future Man
- Ronald John Wooten (b. 1959), American former NFL football guard who played for the New England Patriots from 1982 to 1988
- Michael "Mike" Carroll Wooten (b. 1962), American former NFL football center who played for the Washington Redskins in 1987
- John Wooten (b. 1936), American former NFL football guard who played from 1959 to 1968, inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame
- Dudley Goodall Wooten (1860-1929), American politician, U.S. Representative from Texas (1901-1903)
- Dr. Goodall H. Wooten, Texas doctor whose home The Goodall Wooten House has been added to the National Register of Historic Places
- Brian Wooten (b. 1954), American guitar player
- Victor Lemonte Wooten (b. 1964), American electric bass player
Citations +
- Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
- Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
- Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
- Hutchins, Fortescue, The History of Cornwall, from the Earliest Records and Traditions to the Present Time. London: William Penaluna, 1824. Print
- "What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
- 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)
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies