Show ContentsEdmonton History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The Boernicians of the Scottish/English Borderlands spawned the name Edmonton. It comes from the personal name Edmond. Edmonton is a patronymic surname, which belongs to the category of hereditary surnames. Many patronyms were formed by a son using his father's personal name as a surname. Others were taken from the names of important religious and secular figures. Members of the Edmonton family settled in Scotland, just following the Norman Conquest of England, in 1066.

Early Origins of the Edmonton family

The surname Edmonton was first found in Edinburghshire, a former county, now part of the Midlothian council area where they held a family seat from very early times and were granted lands by Queen Margaret of Scotland. They take their name from the place name Edmondstone, the tun of Eadmund, near Edinburgh. The name may have been derived from Aedmund filius Forn, one of the witnesses to a charter by Thor filius Swani (c. 1150)1

Early History of the Edmonton family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Edmonton research. Another 163 words (12 lines of text) covering the years 1070, 1560, 1607, 1622, 1627, 1640, 1654, 1659 and 1712 are included under the topic Early Edmonton History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Edmonton Spelling Variations

In the many years before the invention of the printing press and the first dictionaries, names and other words were spelled according to sound, often differently with each person who wrote them. Spelling variations of Edmonton include Edmondson, Edmonson, Edminson, Edminston, Edmiston, Edmeston, Edmondon and many more.

Early Notables of the Edmonton family

Notable among the family at this time was Henry Edmondson (1607-1659), an English schoolmaster, entered Queen's College, Oxford in 1622 aged 15. William Edmundson (1627-1712), was an English Quaker whose father was a wealthy yeoman, was born...
Another 36 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Edmonton Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Edmonton family to Ireland

Some of the Edmonton family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 91 words (6 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.


Edmonton migration to the United States +

In many cases, the ancestors of many of these Boernician-Scottish people are just now learning of their Scottish heritage. Since the trip was so arduous, and many were fleeing from poverty itself, settlers brought little with them and often had nothing of their personal history to hand down to their children. Clan societies and highland games have helped to correct this problem in the 20th century. Early immigration records have shown some of the first Edmontons to arrive on North American shores:

Edmonton Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • Charles Edmonton, who arrived in Charleston, South Carolina in 1800 2
  • Robert Edmonton, who arrived in Philadelphia in 1853


The Edmonton Motto +

The motto was originally a war cry or slogan. Mottoes first began to be shown with arms in the 14th and 15th centuries, but were not in general use until the 17th century. Thus the oldest coats of arms generally do not include a motto. Mottoes seldom form part of the grant of arms: Under most heraldic authorities, a motto is an optional component of the coat of arms, and can be added to or changed at will; many families have chosen not to display a motto.

Motto: Virtus auget honorem
Motto Translation: Virtue increases honour.


  1. 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)
  2. 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)


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