Dradon History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

The Anglo-Saxon name Dradon comes from when the family resided in one of the many places called Drayton, or in the settlement of Dreyton in Devon. The reason for the multitude of place names is because the place name literally means "farmstead at or near a portage or slope used for dragging down loads," from the Old English words "draeg" + "tun." 1

Exploring Drayton-in-Hales, or Market-Drayton in Shropshire for a moment, we found "Nennius endeavours to identify this place with the Caer Draithon of the Britons, enumerating it as one of the principal cities belonging to that people; and the correctness of his opinion has not been arraigned by any succeeding writer. It is evident from the discovery of the foundations of several houses in the adjoining fields, that the town anciently occupied a more extended site than it does at present. In the record of Domesday it is mentioned by the name Draitune. The manor was successively in the possession of the abbot of St. Ebrulph, in Normandy, and the abbot of Combermere, in Cheshire." 2

Early Origins of the Dradon family

The surname Dradon was first found in the Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 where Matilda de Drayton, Cambridgeshire; and Beatrix He Draytone, Huntingdonshire, were both listed as holding lands that time. A few years later, Richard de Drayton, was listed as bailiff of Yarmouth, Norfolk in 1284. 3

Later in Yorkshire, the Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379 listed Johannes de Drayton; Willelmus de Draghton; and Robertas de Draghton. 4

Early History of the Dradon family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Dradon research. Another 89 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1363, 1369, 1376, 1563, 1604 and 1631 are included under the topic Early Dradon History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Dradon Spelling Variations

The English language only became standardized in the last few centuries; therefore,spelling variations are common among early Anglo-Saxon names. As the form of the English language changed, even the spelling of literate people's names evolved. Dradon has been recorded under many different variations, including Drayton, Draydon, Draton, Dradon and others.

Early Notables of the Dradon family

Notables of the family at this time include Nicholas de Drayton (fl. 1376), English ecclesiastic and judge, appointed warden of King's College, Cambridge, on 1 Dec. 1363, with a salary of fourpence a day, and an allowance of eight marcs per annum for robes. In 1369 he was suspected of heresy, and the Bishop of London was authorised to commit him to prison (20 March). In 1376 he was appointed a Baron of the Exchequer. The date of his death is uncertain. He is commonly described as 'magister.' 5 Michael Drayton (1563-1631), the English poet, was born at Hartshill, near Atherstone, Warwickshire...
Another 121 words (9 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Dradon Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Dradon family

For many English families, the political and religious disarray that shrouded England made the far away New World an attractive prospect. On cramped disease-ridden ships, thousands migrated to those British colonies that would eventually become Canada and the United States. Those hardy settlers that survived the journey often went on to make important contributions to the emerging nations in which they landed. Analysis of immigration records indicates that some of the first North American immigrants bore the name Dradon or a variant listed above: Anne Drayton who settled in Barbados in 1654; Thomas Drayton settled in Barbados with his servants in 1680; in the same year he transferred to the mainland in Carolina..

Citations +

Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
Page, William (ed), A History of the County of Norfolk. London: Victoria County History, 1906. Print
Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. Print