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Show ContentsHeiton History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

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  • England England
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Family Crest Download (JPG) Heritage Series - 600 DPI

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The Heiton name has descended through the generations from the ancient Anglo-Saxon culture. Their name comes from having lived in or near the settlement of Heighton in the county of Sussex. The surname is thought to derive from one of several place names composed of the old English elements "heah" or "high" and "tun," meaning "enclosure or settlement." The surname Heiton belongs to the large category of Anglo-Saxon habitation names, which are derived from pre-existing names for towns, villages, parishes, or farmsteads.

Early Origins of the Heiton family

The surname Heiton was first found in Sussex where the first record of the name is John atte Heghetun who was mentioned in the Subsidy Rolls for Sussex in 1296. Today Hightown is a village and civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside but originally part of Cheshire. 1 However, other references list Hightown in what was formerly Lancashire. "The Huytons of Billinge held land [in Skelmersdale, Lancashire] as early as 1307." 2

Early History of the Heiton family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Heiton research. Another 100 words (7 lines of text) covering the years 1273, 1279 and 1296 are included under the topic Early Heiton History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Heiton Spelling Variations

Only recently has spelling become standardized in the English language. As the English language evolved in the Middle Ages, the spelling of names changed also. The name Heiton has undergone many spelling variations, including Heighton, Highton, Huyton and others.

Early Notables of the Heiton family

More information is included under the topic Early Heiton Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Heiton family

To escape the unstable social climate in England of this time, many families boarded ships for the New World with the hope of finding land, opportunity, and greater religious and political freedom. Although the voyages were expensive, crowded, and difficult, those families that arrived often found greater opportunities and freedoms than they could have experienced at home. Many of those families went on to make significant contributions to the rapidly developing colonies in which they settled. Early North American records indicate many people bearing the name Heiton were among those contributors: William Heighton who settled in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1828; William Highton settled in Maryland in 1771.
  1. Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
  2. 'Townships: Scarisbrick', in A History of the County of Lancaster: Volume 3, ed. William Farrer and J Brownbill (London, 1907), pp. 265-276. British History Online http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/lancs/vol3/pp265-276 [accessed 21 January 2017].
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