Heytens History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

The name Heytens is of Anglo-Saxon origin and came from when the family 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 Heytens 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 Heytens family

The surname Heytens 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 Heytens family

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

Heytens Spelling Variations

It is only in the last few hundred years that the English language has been standardized. For that reason, early Anglo-Saxon surnames like Heytens are characterized by many spelling variations. As the English language changed and incorporated elements of other European languages, even literate people changed the spelling of their names. Scribes and monks in the Middle Ages spelled names they sounded, so it is common to find several variations that refer to a single person. The variations of the name Heytens include: Heighton, Highton, Huyton and others.

Early Notables of the Heytens family

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

Heytens migration to the United States +

Many English families tired of political and religious strife left Britain for the new colonies in North America. Although the trip itself offered no relief - conditions on the ships were extremely cramped, and many travelers arrived diseased, starving, and destitute - these immigrants believed the opportunities that awaited them were worth the risks. Once in the colonies, many of the families did indeed prosper and, in turn, made significant contributions to the culture and economies of the growing colonies. An inquiry into the early roots of North American families has revealed a number of immigrants bearing the name Heytens or a variant listed above:

Heytens Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Hester Heytens, who arrived in Virginia in 1649 3

Citations +

Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
'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].
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)