Show ContentsStanton History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The ancient history of the Stanton name begins with the ancient Anglo-Saxon tribes of Britain. The name is derived from when the family resided in the county of Nottinghamshire in an area that was referred to as stanton, which means stony ground. 1

Stanton 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. During the Middle Ages, as society became more complex, individuals needed a way to be distinguishable from others. Toponymic surnames were developed as a result of this need. Various features in the landscape or area were used to distinguish people from one another. In this case the original bearers of the surname Stanton were named due to their close proximity to the stanton.

Early Origins of the Stanton family

The surname Stanton was first found in Nottinghamshire where they held a family seat from very ancient times, as Lords of the manor of Staunton. The first Lord was Sir Brian Staunton who was Lord of Staunton during the time of Edward the Confessor in 1047. 2 The family of Staunton of Staunton, in the first-named shire, "can be regularly traced from the time of the Conqueror, and there is no doubt of their having been settled in Nottinghamshire. in the time of Edward the Confessor." 2 "An ancient house, traced to the Conquest" 3

Great East Standen Manor is a manor house on the Isle of Wight that dates to the Norman Conquest; and was once the residence of Princess Cicely (1469-1507). Nearby is Standen House, an English country house but this edifice is more recent and dates back to the 18th century.

Gloucestershire is home to another village named Staunton and this village is almost as old as the former with the first listing found in 972 as Stanton 1 and then later the Domesday Book, 4 mentions a castle there belonging to Roger de Stanton, the foundations of which were cleared away a few years before. 5

Stanton in Northumberland was home to another branch of the family which has fallen. "The ancient manor-house, the seat of the last-named family, has been converted into a house for the reception of the poor; and a chapel which stood a little to the north of it, has altogether disappeared." 5

Hervey de Staunton (died 1327), was an English judge, son of Sir William de Staunton of Staunton, Nottinghamshire. "He seems to have held the living of Soham, Norfolk, as early as 1289: afterwards he held the livings of Thurston and Werbeton, and about 1306, on being ordained priest, received the living of East Derham. In November 1300 there is mention of him as going to the court of Rome. He was a justice itinerant in Cornwall in 1302 and in Durham in 1303." 6

The Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 list Alice de Staunton, Lincolnshire; Nicholas de Staunton, Essex; and William de Staunton, Oxfordshire. 7

Early History of the Stanton family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Stanton research. Another 60 words (4 lines of text) covering the years 1600, 1616, 1636, 1639, 1671, 1677, 1681, 1705, 1734, 1785 and 1859 are included under the topic Early Stanton History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Stanton Spelling Variations

Until quite recently, the English language has lacked a definite system of spelling rules. Consequently, Anglo-Saxon surnames are characterized by a multitude of spelling variations. Changes in Anglo-Saxon names were influenced by the evolution of the English language, as it incorporated elements of French, Latin, and other languages. Although Medieval scribes and church officials recorded names as they sounded, so it is common to find one person referred to by several different spellings of his surname, even the most literate people varied the spelling of their own names. Variations of the name Stanton include Stanton, Staunton and others.

Early Notables of the Stanton family

Distinguished members of the family include

  • Edmund Staunton (Stanton) (1600-1671), an English clergyman, chosen by Parliament as President of Corpus Christi College, Oxford
  • Thomas Stanton (1616?-1677), English-born, settler to America c. 1636, a trader and an accomplished Indian interpreter and negotiator in the colony of Connecticut
  • William Stanton (1639-1705), an English mason and sculptor, known for his memorial pieces

Stanton World Ranking

In the United States, the name Stanton is the 912nd most popular surname with an estimated 32,331 people with that name. 8 However, in Australia, the name Stanton is ranked the 693rd most popular surname with an estimated 5,646 people with that name. 9 And in New Zealand, the name Stanton is the 795th popular surname with an estimated 916 people with that name. 10 The United Kingdom ranks Stanton as 701st with 9,545 people. 11

Ireland Migration of the Stanton family to Ireland

Some of the Stanton family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 77 words (6 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.


United States Stanton migration to the United States +

Searching for a better life, many English families migrated to British colonies. Unfortunately, the majority of them traveled under extremely harsh conditions: overcrowding on the ships caused the majority of the immigrants to arrive diseased, famished, and destitute from the long journey across the ocean. For those families that arrived safely, modest prosperity was attainable, and many went on to make invaluable contributions to the development of the cultures of the new colonies. Research into the origins of individual families in North America revealed records of the immigration of a number of people bearing the name Stanton or a variant listed above:

Stanton Settlers in United States in the 17th Century
  • John Stanton, who landed in Virginia in 1622 12
  • Thomas Stanton, who arrived in Boston, Massachusetts in 1635 12
  • Thomas Stanton, who landed in New England in 1637 12
  • Christopher Stanton, who arrived in Virginia in 1638 12
  • Tho Stanton, who arrived in Virginia in 1640 12
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)
Stanton Settlers in United States in the 18th Century
  • Theop Stanton, who landed in Virginia in 1702 12
  • Eliz Stanton, who landed in Virginia in 1705 12
  • Matthew Stanton, who arrived in Virginia in 1735 12
  • Elizabeth Stanton, who arrived in Virginia in 1739 12
Stanton Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • John Stanton, who landed in New York in 1811 12
  • Frederick Stanton, who arrived in Mississippi in 1818 12
  • Aaron, Stanton Sr., who arrived in Mississippi in 1823 12
  • Aaron Stanton, who landed in Mississippi in 1825 12
  • Edward Stanton, who arrived in Mississippi in 1825 12
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Canada Stanton migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Stanton Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century
  • George Stanton, who landed in Nova Scotia in 1749
  • John Stanton, who arrived in Nova Scotia in 1750
  • Mr. James Stanton U.E. who arrived at Port Roseway, [Shelbourne], Nova Scotia on October 26, 1783 was passenger number 59 aboard the ship "HMS Clinton", picked up on September 20, 1783 at East River, New York, USA 13
  • Mr. Willian Stanton U.E. who arrived at Port Roseway, [Shelbourne], Nova Scotia on October 26, 1783 was passenger number 279 aboard the ship "HMS Clinton", picked up on September 28, 1783 at Staten Island, New York, USA 13
  • Mr. Benjamin Stanton U.E. born in Rhode Island, New York, USA who settled in Saint John, New Brunswick c. 1784 he became a Freeman in 1795 was a Blacksmith 13
Stanton Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century
  • William Stanton, who arrived in Halifax, Nova Scotia in 1843
  • Mrs. Mary Stanton, aged 30 who immigrated to Canada, arriving at the Grosse Isle Quarantine Station in Quebec aboard the ship "Junior" departing from the port of Liverpool, England but died on Grosse Isle in August 1847 14
  • Mr. Philip Stanton, aged 22 who immigrated to Canada, arriving at the Grosse Isle Quarantine Station in Quebec aboard the ship "Unicorn" departing from the port of Londonderry, Ireland but died on Grosse Isle in August 1847 14
  • Mr. Alexander Stanton who was emigrating through Grosse Isle Quarantine Station, Quebec aboard the ship "New Zealand" departing 20th May 1847 from Newry, Ireland; the ship arrived on 3rd July 1847 but he died on board 15
  • Mr. John Stanton, aged 50 who was emigrating through Grosse Isle Quarantine Station, Quebec aboard the ship "George" departing 13th April 1847 from Liverpool, England; the ship arrived on 12th June 1847 but he died on board 15
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Australia Stanton migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Stanton Settlers in Australia in the 18th Century
  • Mr. Thomas Stanton (b. 1758), aged 27, Cornish settler convicted in Launceston, Cornwall, UK 19th March 1785, sentenced for 7 years for 2 counts of stealing a gelding, transported aboard the ship "Scarborough" on 13th May 1787 to New South Wales, Australia 16
Stanton Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century
  • Mr. James Stanton, (b. 1772), aged 31, English seaman who was convicted in Kent, England for life for stealing, transported aboard the "Coromandel" on 4th December 1803, arriving in New South Wales, Australia, listed as his second convict he was first transported in 1791 on the "Active", he died in 1822 at sea 17
  • Miss Mary Stanton, (b. 1791), aged 27, Irish convict who was convicted in County Mayo, Ireland for 14 years, transported aboard the "Elizabeth" on 26th July 1818, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 18
  • Mr. Richard Stanton, British Convict who was convicted in London, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Countess of Harcourt" on 8th April 1821, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 19
  • Mr. Edward Stanton, (b. 1800), aged 22, English convict who was convicted in Gloucester, Gloucestershire, England for 7 years for larceny, transported aboard the "Eliza" on 13th July 1822, arriving in New South Wales, Australia, he died in 1872 20
  • Miss Eliza Stanton who was convicted in Gloucester, Gloucestershire, England for 14 years, transported aboard the "Brothers" on 20th November 1823, arriving in New South Wales, Australia and Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 21
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

New Zealand Stanton migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

Stanton Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century
  • Mr Stanton, who landed in Wellington, New Zealand in 1841 aboard the ship Cath Stuart Forbes
  • William Stanton, who landed in Nelson, New Zealand in 1842 aboard the ship Clifford
  • William Stanton, aged 37, a bricklayer, who arrived in Nelson, New Zealand aboard the ship "Clifford" in 1842
  • Mary Stanton, aged 35, who arrived in Nelson, New Zealand aboard the ship "Clifford" in 1842
  • William Stanton, aged 13, who arrived in Nelson, New Zealand aboard the ship "Clifford" in 1842
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Contemporary Notables of the name Stanton (post 1700) +

  • James Vincent Stanton (1932-2022), American lawyer and politician who served three terms as a U.S. Representative from Ohio from 1971 to 1977, President of the Cleveland City Council from 1964 to 1970
  • Leroy Bobby Stanton (1946-2019), American Major League Baseball outfielder who played from 1970 to 1978
  • Frank Nicholas Stanton (1908-2006), American broadcasting executive, President of CBS between 1946 and 1971, Chairman of the Rand Corporation from 1961 until 1967
  • Harry Dean Stanton (1926-2017), American actor, musician, and singer
  • Frank Lebby Stanton (1857-1927), American lyricist, first poet laureate of the State of Georgia
  • Henry Stanton (1805-1887), American abolitionist, social reformer, attorney, journalist and politician
  • Craig Stanton (b. 1960), American race car driver and cyclist
  • Andrew Stanton (b. 1965), American two-time Academy Award winning film director, screenwriter, producer, and voice actor, known for his work on Finding Nemo (2003), WALL·E (2008) and the Toy Story movies
  • William Michael "Mike" Stanton (b. 1967), American former Major League Baseball left-handed specialist relief pitcher who played from 1989 to 2007
  • Frederick Perry Stanton (1814-1894), American politician in the 19th century
  • ... (Another 13 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

HMS Dorsetshire
  • Stanton, British Leading Torpedoman aboard the HMS Dorsetshire (1945) when she was struck by air bombers and sunk; he survived the sinking 22
HMS Prince of Wales
  • Mr. Stanton, British Petty Officer, who sailed into battle on the HMS Prince of Wales (1941) and survived the sinking 23
RMS Titanic
  • Mr. Samuel Ward Stanton (d. 1912), aged 42, American Second Class passenger from New York City, New York who sailed aboard the RMS Titanic and died in the sinking 24
Senghenydd colliery
  • Mr. Edwin Albert Stanton (b. 1886), Welsh coal miner from Abertridwr, Caerphilly, Wales who was working at the Senghenydd colliery when there was an explosion on the 14th October 1913; he died


Suggested Readings for the name Stanton +

  • A Record, Genealogical, Biographical, Statistical, of Thomas Stanton, of Connecticut by William A. Stanton.
  • A Williams Genealogy: Ancestors and Descendants of Luke Stanton William's and his Wife, Olive Miller William's by Olin E. William's.

  1. Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
  2. Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
  3. Shirley, Evelyn Philip, The Noble and Gentle Men of England; The Arms and Descents. Westminster: John Bower Nichols and Sons, 1866, Print.
  4. Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
  5. Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
  6. Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. Print
  7. Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
  8. "What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
  9. "Most Common Last Names in Australia." Forebears, https://forebears.io/australia/surnames
  10. "Most Common Last Names in New Zealand." Forebears, https://forebears.io/new-zealand/surnames
  11. "UK surname ranking." UK Surname map, https://www.surnamemap.eu/unitedkingdom/surnames_ranking.php?p=10
  12. 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)
  13. Rubincam, Milton. The Old United Empire Loyalists List. Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc, 1976. (Originally published as; United Empire Loyalists. The Centennial of the Settlement of Upper Canada. Rose Publishing Company, 1885.) ISBN 0-8063-0331-X
  14. Charbonneau, André, and Doris Drolet-Dubé. A Register of Deceased Persons at Sea and on Grosse Île in 1847. The Minister of Canadian Heritage, 1997. ISBN: 0-660-198/1-1997E (p. 56)
  15. Charbonneau, André, and Doris Drolet-Dubé. A Register of Deceased Persons at Sea and on Grosse Île in 1847. The Minister of Canadian Heritage, 1997. ISBN: 0-660-198/1-1997E (p. 96)
  16. Cornwall Online Parish Clerks. (Retrieved 30th May 2018). Retrieved from http://www.opc-cornwall.org/Resc/pdfs/emigration_australia_convicts.pdf
  17. Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 22nd March 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/coromandel-and-experiment
  18. Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 3rd March 2022). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/elizabeth
  19. Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 24th March 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/countess-of-harcourt
  20. Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 15th February 2022). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/eliza
  21. Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 30th October 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/brothers
  22. Force Z Survivors HMS Dorsetshire Crew List, (Retrieved 2018, February 13th), https://www.forcez-survivors.org.uk/biographies/listdorsetshirecrew.html
  23. HMS Prince of Wales Crew members. (Retrieved 2014, April 9) . Retrieved from http://www.forcez-survivors.org.uk/biographies/listprincecrew.html
  24. Titanic Passenger List - Titanic Facts. (Retrieved 2016, July 13) . Retrieved from http://www.titanicfacts.net/titanic-passenger-list.html


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