Kerton History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Scotland

Kerton is a name of ancient Anglo-Saxon origin and comes from a family once having lived in the region of Kirkton which referred to site where a church was in Berkshire. Kerton 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.

Early Origins of the Kerton family

The surname Kerton was first found in Lincolnshire where "the Kirketons, ennobled by the title of Baron by Edward III., derived their name and title from Kirkton, now Kirton." 1 One of the earliest records of the family was that of Edmund Kirkton (d. 1466), the English prelate and Abbot of Westminister.

Further to the north in Scotland, "this surname appears in several records in different parts of the country and as the place name is common it is possible that persons bearing this surname are of different origin. Wilham de Kirketon appears as witness in Aberdeen in 1243. Adam de Kirketone of the county of Edneburk rendered homage in 1296." 2

Early History of the Kerton family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Kerton research. Another 111 words (8 lines of text) covering the years 1270, 1296, 1466, 1620, 1674, 1676 and 1699 are included under the topic Early Kerton History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Kerton Spelling Variations

The English language only became standardized in the last few centuries; therefore,spelling variations are common among early Anglo-Saxon names. As the form of the English language changed, even the spelling of literate people's names evolved. Kerton has been recorded under many different variations, including Kirton, Kirkton, Kirtman and others.

Early Notables of the Kerton family

Distinguished members of the family include Edmund Kirton (d. 1466), English divine, Abbot of Westminster. He belonged to the old family of Cobbledick, but took the name Kirton, probably from the village he was born. His tomb is in St...
Another 40 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Kerton Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Kerton migration to the United States +

For many English families, the political and religious disarray that shrouded England made the far away New World an attractive prospect. On cramped disease-ridden ships, thousands migrated to those British colonies that would eventually become Canada and the United States. Those hardy settlers that survived the journey often went on to make important contributions to the emerging nations in which they landed. Analysis of immigration records indicates that some of the first North American immigrants bore the name Kerton or a variant listed above:

Kerton Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

John Kerton, who landed in Virginia in 1653 3
William Kerton, who arrived in Maryland in 1674 3

Kerton Settlers in United States in the 20th Century

Angelina Kerton, aged 30, who settled in America from Barbados, in 1907
Gertrude Kerton, aged 25, who immigrated to America, in 1908
Reginald Kerton, aged 20, who landed in America from W. Indies, in 1908
William Kerton, aged 29, who immigrated to the United States from Barrow in Furness, England, in 1913
Margaret Kerton, aged 21, who settled in America from Chilton Cantels, Mt. Yeovil, England, in 1920
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Contemporary Notables of the name Kerton (post 1700) +

Sudjana Kerton (1922-1994), Indonesian painter

Citations +

Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
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)
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)