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Butten History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables

Butten History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Ireland
Scotland

The founding heritage of the Butten family is in the Anglo-Saxon culture that once dominated in Britain. The name Butten comes from when one of the family worked as a maker of buttons. The surname Butten 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 Butten family

The surname Butten 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 Butten family

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

Butten Spelling Variations

The first dictionaries that appeared in the last few hundred years did much to standardize the English language. Before that time, spelling variations in names were a common occurrence. The language was changing, incorporating pieces of other languages, and the spelling of names changed with it. Butten has been spelled many different ways, including 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 Butten 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 Common...

Migration of the Butten family to Ireland

Some of the Butten 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.

Butten migration to the United States +

Thousands of English families in this era began to emigrate the New World in search of land and freedom from religious and political persecution. Although the passage was expensive and the ships were dark, crowded, and unsafe, those who made the voyage safely were rewarded with opportunities unavailable to them in their homeland. Research into passenger and immigration lists has revealed some of the very first Buttens to arrive in North America:

Butten Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

William Butten, who sailed for Plymouth, Massachusetts, in 1620 aboard the ship "Mayflower" and died at sea three days prior to arrival at Cape Cod Harbour 5

Butten Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

P. J. Butten, aged 22, who arrived in America, in 1895

Butten Settlers in United States in the 20th Century

Harry Butten, aged 27, who arrived in America from East Dulwich, England, in 1908
Robert Butten, aged 21, who arrived in America, in 1917
E. T. Butten, aged 44, who arrived in America, in 1919
A. Butten, who arrived in America, in 1922
George Butten, aged 46, who arrived in America, in 1924

Butten migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Butten Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century

Mary Butten, who arrived in Esquimalt, British Columbia in 1862

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)
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)