Ethun History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Ireland

The origins of the Ethun name lie with England's ancient Anglo-Saxon culture. It comes from when the family lived on a farm by a river or a farm on an island. 1 The surname Ethun originally derived from the Old English word Eatun which referred to farm on a river or island. The surname Ethun is a topographic surname, which was given to a person who resided near a physical feature such as a hill, stream, church, or type of tree. Habitation names form the other broad category of surnames that were derived from place-names. They were derived from pre-existing names for towns, villages, parishes, or farmsteads. Other local names are derived from the names of houses, manors, estates, regions, and entire counties. As a general rule, the greater the distance between an individual and their homeland, the larger the territory they were named after. For example, a person who only moved to another parish would be known by the name of their original village, while people who migrated to a different country were often known by the name of a region or country from which they came.

Early Origins of the Ethun family

The surname Ethun was first found in various townships named "Eaton," throughout Britain including those in Berkshire, Cheshire, Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire, Salop, Herefordshire, Bedfordshire and more. Many of the villages and parishes date back to the Domesday Book of 1086 including: Castle Eaton, Wiltshire; Eaton, Norfolk; Eaton, Oxfordshire; Eaton Socon, Cambridgeshire and Eaton Bray in Bedfordshire. 1

One source claims that Cheshire is the original home to the family. "The Cheshire Eatons take their name from townships of the name in the county. The Eatons of Eaton, a very old and distinguished family, are probably the parent stock." 2

The Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 points to the earliest records of the family: Peter de Eton in Huntingdonshire; and Brian de Eton in Wiltshire. 3

Early History of the Ethun family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Ethun research. Another 70 words (5 lines of text) covering the years 1590, 1596, 1610, 1633, 1634, 1658, 1665, 1674, 1684 and 1890 are included under the topic Early Ethun History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Ethun Spelling Variations

Before the last few hundred years, the English language had no fast system of spelling rules. For that reason, spelling variations are commonly found in early Anglo-Saxon surnames. Over the years, many variations of the name Ethun were recorded, including Eaton, Eton, Eaten and others.

Early Notables of the Ethun family

Notables of the family at this time include Samuel Eaton (ca.1596-1665), an English independent divine; Theophilus Eaton (c.1590-1658), a merchant, farmer, and Puritan colonial leader who was the co-founder and first governor of New Haven Colony, Connecticut; Nathaniel Eaton (1610-1674) English settler Massachusetts Bay Colony (c. 1634), the first schoolmaster of Harvard College in Cambridge, Massachusetts; and...
Another 57 words (4 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Ethun Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Ethun family to Ireland

Some of the Ethun family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 82 words (6 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Ethun family

To escape oppression and starvation at that time, many English families left for the "open frontiers" of the New World with all its perceived opportunities. In droves people migrated to the many British colonies, those in North America in particular, paying high rates for passages in cramped, unsafe ships. Although many of the settlers did not make the long passage alive, those who did see the shores of North America perceived great opportunities before them. Many of the families that came from England went on to make essential contributions to the emerging nations of Canada and the United States. Research into various historical records revealed some of first members of the Ethun family emigrate to North America: Alexander Eaton who settled in Boston Massachusetts in 1651; Eliza Eaton settled in Pennsylvania in 1682; Francis Eaton, his wife Sarah, and son Samuel, arrived on the ".

The Ethun 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: Vincit omnia veritas
Motto Translation: Truth conquers all things.

Citations +

Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
Guppy, Henry Brougham, Homes of Family Names in Great Britain. 1890. 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)