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Bitton History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

Contemporary Notables Related Stories Citations

Bitton History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Ireland
Scotland

The origins of the Bitton surname lie with the Anglo-Saxon tribes of Britain. The name Bitton began when someone in that family worked as a maker of buttons. The surname Bitton is a metonymic name derived from the Old French word boton, which means button.

Alternatively, the name could have been derived from the Old English "bi" + "dun," collectively meaning "dweller by the down." 1

Early Origins of the Bitton family

The surname Bitton was first found in Hampshire and later in Gloucestershire and Somerset. Lower says the family can be traced to the 13th century in Hampshire where Sir Walter de Button was progenitor of the family about 1216 A.D. 2 The family had flourished for several centuries in that county, intermarrying with many distinguished families, supplementing their estates with marriages of the heiresses of the Furneaux, Bryan, Turbevilles, Bassets and others.

According to the Pipe Rolls of 1177, Trihon Bidon held lands there at that time and over one hundred years later, William Bidun was listed in Hundredorum Rolls of Bedfordshire in 1279. 1

William of Bitton I (d. 1264,) also listed as William Button was a medieval Bishop of Bath and Wells. His nephews included another William of Bitton (d. 1274,) was also Bishop of Bath and Wells; and William's brother, a Thomas of Bitton (d. 1307,) an Archdeacon and Dean of Wells, and later Bishop of Exeter (1291-1307). 3

Further to the north in Scotland, "Walter de Bydun witnessed King David's gift of Rindelgros (i.e. Rhind in Perthshire) to the Abbey of Reading c. 1143-47. He or a succeeding Walter appears several times as chancellor of Scotland between c. 1165 and 1178, and as a witness to royal charters. A twelfth century pedigree of the family is given in Pipe Roll Society Publications, vol. xxxv, p. xliii." 4

Early History of the Bitton family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Bitton research. Another 155 words (11 lines of text) covering the years 1355, 1566, 1584, 1612, 1613, 1614, 1620, 1624, 1625, 1629, 1634, 1646, 1648, 1655, 1659, 1665, 1679, 1680 and 1713 are included under the topic Early Bitton History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Bitton Spelling Variations

One relatively recent invention that did much to standardize English spelling was the printing press. However, before its invention even the most literate people recorded their names according to sound rather than spelling. The spelling variations under which the name Bitton has appeared include Button, Bitton, Buttoner, Buton, Biton, Buttons, Boutin, Bouttin, Bouton, Boutton, Budden, Buddan, Boudin, Bouddin, Buttan, Buddon, Buddin, Butten, Buttin, Butting, Budding, Buttane and many more.

Early Notables of the Bitton family

Distinguished members of the family include John Budden (1566-1620), Professor of civil law at Oxford, son of John Budden of Canford, Dorsetshire; Sir William Button, 1st Baronet (1584-1655), an English politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1614 and 1629, supported the Royalist cause in the English Civil War; John Button (died 1665), an English politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1625 and 1648, he fought on the Parliamentary side in the English Civil War; Ralph Button (died 1680), an English academic and clergyman, Gresham Professor of Geometry, canon of Christ Church, Oxford...
Another 104 words (7 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Bitton Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Bitton Ranking

In France, the name Bitton is the 6,991^st most popular surname with an estimated 1,000 - 1,500 people with that name. 5

Migration of the Bitton family to Ireland

Some of the Bitton family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt. More information about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Bitton migration to the United States +

At this time, the shores of the New World beckoned many English families that felt that the social climate in England was oppressive and lacked opportunity for change. Thousands left England at great expense in ships that were overcrowded and full of disease. A great portion of these settlers never survived the journey and even a greater number arrived sick, starving, and without a penny. The survivors, however, were often greeted with greater opportunity than they could have experienced back home. These English settlers made significant contributions to those colonies that would eventually become the United States and Canada. An examination of early immigration records and passenger ship lists revealed that people bearing the name Bitton arrived in North America very early:

Bitton Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

James Bitton, aged 27, who landed in New England in 1635 aboard the ship "Increase" 6

Bitton Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

John Bitton, who arrived in Maryland in 1706 6

Bitton migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Bitton Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mr. John Bitton, Welsh convict who was convicted in Monmouth, Monmouthshire, Wales for 7 years, transported aboard the "Caledonia" on 5th July 1820, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 7
Mr. Edward Bitton, British Convict who was convicted in Middlesex, England for life, transported aboard the "Earl St Vincent" on 20th April 1826, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 8

Contemporary Notables of the name Bitton (post 1700) +

Ronald Davis Bitton (1930-2007), American charter member and president of the Mormon History Association (1972-1982)
William of Bitton (b. 1264), medieval English Bishop of Bath and Wells
William of Bitton (b. 1274), medieval Bishop of Bath and Wells, nephew to William of Bitton died 1264
Simone Bitton (b. 1955), French-Moroccan documentary filmmaker
Raquel Bitton, (born in Marrakesh, Morocco) French singer, actress and playwright
Thomas Bitton (b. 1307), sometimes Thomas de Bytton, British medieval Bishop of Exeter
Amit Bitton (b. 1996), (or Biton), Israeli footballer
Ben Bitton (b. 1991), (or Biton), Israeli association footballer
Shimon Bitton (b. 1967), Israeli former professional footballer
Jean-Luc Bitton (b. 1959), French writer, journalist and author
... (Another 6 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Citations +

Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. 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)
http://www.journaldesfemmes.com/nom-de-famille/nom/
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)
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 25th November 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/caledonia
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 14th September 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/earl-st-vincent