Elderton History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

Etymology of Elderton

What does the name Elderton mean?

The name Elderton is of Anglo-Saxon origin and came from when a family lived in a region or farm with alder trees 1 or the farm of the great and wise warrior. 2

Early Origins of the Elderton family

The surname Elderton was first found in Northamptonshire, Wiltshire, Norfolk and Suffolk, where Alderton, parishes or various sizes are still found today. The Domesday Book of 1086 lists: Aldritine in Gloucestershire and Northamptonshire; Aldritone, Wiltshire; and Alretuna, Suffolk. 3

The first record in early rolls was that of Alexander de Alreton who was listed in the Pipe Rolls of Yorkshire in 1191. Later, John de Aldrinton was found in the Assize Rolls for Worcestershire in 1221 and much later, Richard Alderton was listed in the Subsidy Rolls for Sussex in 1525. 4

Early History of the Elderton family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Elderton research. Another 24 words (2 lines of text) covering the year 1592 is included under the topic Early Elderton History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Elderton Spelling Variations

Sound was what guided spelling in the essentially pre-literate Middle Ages, so one person's name was often recorded under several variations during a single lifetime. Also, before the advent of the printing press and the first dictionaries, the English language was not standardized. Therefore, spelling variations were common, even among the names of the most literate people. Known variations of the Elderton family name include Alderton, Elderton, Eldarton, Aldarten, Eldertin and others.

Early Notables of the Elderton family

William Elderton (d. 1592?), English ballad-writer, a notorious tippler and a ready writer of ballads5...

Migration of the Elderton family

For political, religious, and economic reasons, thousands of English families boarded ships for Ireland, the Canadas, the America colonies, and many of smaller tropical colonies in the hope of finding better lives abroad. Although the passage on the cramped, dank ships caused many to arrive in the New World diseased and starving, those families that survived the trip often went on to make valuable contributions to those new societies to which they arrived. Early immigrants bearing the Elderton surname or a spelling variation of the name include : John Alderton who came at the time of the "Mayflower" in 1620; and settled in Plymouth, and later in Massachusetts, at the age of 21. Another John Alderton settled in Virginia in 1663.

Sources +

Harrison, Henry, Surnames of the United Kingdom: A Concise Etymological Dictionary Baltimore: Geneological Publishing Company, 2013. Print
Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. Print