Hortant History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Scotland

The Hortant name has descended through the generations from the ancient Anglo-Saxon culture. Their name comes from having lived in one of the many places called Horton; settlements of this name are particularly common in Yorkshire. The surname Hortant belongs to the large category of Anglo-Saxon habitation names, which are derived from pre-existing names for towns, villages, parishes, or farmsteads.

There are two possible origins of the name: "dirty or muddy farmstead," from the Old English "horu" + "tun" and "hill frequented by harts or stags," from the Old English "heorot" + "dun." 1

Early Origins of the Hortant family

The surname Hortant was first found in the West Riding of Yorkshire at Thornton, a chapelry, in the parish and union of Bradford, wapentake of Morley. "Thornton Hall, the property of the Horton family, an ancient quadrangular structure of great size, and formerly of considerable importance, is now occupied as farm-buildings and cottages." 2

Over in Horton, in Northumberland another branch of the family was found. "Possessions were anciently held here by the knightly family of Horton," 2 and at Horton in the West Riding of Yorkshire, more early records of the family were found. "In the reign of Henry II., the manor was granted by Robert de Lacy to the ancestor of the Hortons." 2

The Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 had the following entries for the family: Thomas de Horton in Devon; William de Horton in Kent; and Adam de Horton in Cambridgeshire. The Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379 listed: Emma de Horton; and Dionisia de Horton. 3

Some of the family were found in Scotland in early times: "Pieres de Hortone of Edinburghshire who rendered homage in 1296 derived his name from one of the many places named Horton in England, perhaps from one of the three places of the name in Yorkshire." 4

Early History of the Hortant family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Hortant research. Another 235 words (17 lines of text) covering the years 1210, 1296, 1603, 1649, 1660, 1673, 1696, 1714, 1756, 1764, 1784, 1806, 1821, 1823 and 1841 are included under the topic Early Hortant History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Hortant 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 Hortant has undergone many spelling variations, including Horton, Horten and others.

Early Notables of the Hortant family

Notables of this surname at this time include: Thomas Horton D.D. (died 1673), an English clergyman, Professor of Divinity at Gresham College in London, and President of Queens' College, Cambridge. 5 Major Thomas Horton (1603-1649) was an English soldier in the parliamentary army during the English Civil War from Gumley, Leicestershire. Horton was granted the confiscated lands of a deposed Royalist and was Commissioner of...
Another 63 words (4 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Hortant Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Hortant 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 Hortant were among those contributors: Robert Horton settled in Virginia in 1648; Isaac Horton settled in Virginia in 1636; Barth Horton settled in Virginia in 1638; Robert Horton settled in Barbados in 1670..

Citations +

Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, 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)
Black, George F., The Surnames of Scotland Their Origin, Meaning and History. New York: New York Public Library, 1946. Print. (ISBN 0-87104-172-3)
Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. Print