Show ContentsTatton History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Tatton is a name whose history is connected to the ancient Anglo-Saxon tribes of Britain. The name is derived from when the Tatton family once lived in the township of Tatton found in the parish of Rostherne in the county of Cheshire. The surname Tatton is a habitation name that was originally derived from pre-existing names for towns, villages, parishes, or farmsteads. The surname originated as a means of identifying individuals from a particular area. In the Middle Ages people often assumed the name of the place that they originally lived as their surname during the course of travel.

Early Origins of the Tatton family

The surname Tatton was first found in Cheshire at Tatton, a small civil parish now in the Borough of Cheshire East. "Robert Tatton of Kenworthy, in Northended, who married the heiress of William de Withenshaw, alias Massy, about the latter end of the reign of Edward III, is the first proved ancestor of this family, but there is reason to believe that he was descended from the much more ancient house of the name who were seated at Tatton in the twelve century. " [1]

Tatton Park is a historic estate just north of the town of Knutsford and is home to Tatton Hall and Tatton Old Hall, a manor house which dates back to the 16th century. "The manor passed with Etchells, in Northen parish, and became the property of the Tatton family." [2]

Early History of the Tatton family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Tatton research. Another 98 words (7 lines of text) covering the years 1606, 1643, 1645, 1646, 1659, 1669, 1736 and 1809 are included under the topic Early Tatton History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Tatton Spelling Variations

Sound was what guided spelling in the essentially pre-literate Middle Ages, so one person's name was often recorded under several variations during a single lifetime. Also, before the advent of the printing press and the first dictionaries, the English language was not standardized. Therefore, spelling variations were common, even among the names of the most literate people. Known variations of the Tatton family name include Tatton, Tatten, Tattin, Tattone, Tattan, Taton, Taten, Tayton, Taytton, Taitten, Teyton, Teitton, Tetton, Tettin, Tetten, Tettan, Taytone, Teytone, Tattons, Tattens, Tattins, Tattans, Teytons and many more.

Early Notables of the Tatton family

Notables of this surname at this time include:

  • Robert Tatton (1606-1669), High Sheriff of Chester between 1645 and 1646, a supporter of King Charles I in the English Civil War, Robert is perhaps best known for the ultimately unsuccessful defence o...
  • Lieutenant-General William Tatton (1659-1736) was a career soldier in the British Army and trusted associate of John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough...


United States Tatton migration to the United States +

For political, religious, and economic reasons, thousands of English families boarded ships for Ireland, Canada, the America colonies, and many of smaller tropical colonies in the hope of finding better lives abroad. Although the passage on the cramped, dank ships caused many to arrive in the New World diseased and starving, those families that survived the trip often went on to make valuable contributions to those new societies to which they arrived. Early immigrants bearing the Tatton surname or a spelling variation of the name include:

Tatton Settlers in United States in the 17th Century
  • Joseph Tatton, who settled in New England in 1646
  • Robert Tatton, who landed in Virginia in 1664 [3]
  • William Tatton, who arrived in Virginia in 1666 [3]
Tatton Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • Molly Tatton, who settled in New York State in 1849
  • Thomas Tatton, who arrived in Allegany (Allegheny) County, Pennsylvania in 1871 [3]

Australia Tatton migration to Australia +

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

Tatton Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century
  • Mr. Joshua Tatton, English convict who was convicted in Middlesex, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Aurora" on 3rd November 1833, arriving in New South Wales, Australia [4]
  • Mr. John Tatton who was convicted in Stafford, Staffordshire, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Duchess of Northumberland" on 1st October 1842, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) [5]
  • Mr. James Tatton, English convict who was convicted in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England for 10 years, transported aboard the "Cressy" on 28th April 1843, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) [6]

New Zealand Tatton 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:

Tatton Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century
  • Kate Tatton, aged 21, a servant, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Jessie Osborne" in 1867

Contemporary Notables of the name Tatton (post 1700) +

  • William Tatton (1749-1806), birth name of William Egerton, an English politician, Member of Parliament for Hindon (1784-1790), progenitor of the Barons Egerton; he changed his surname to his mother's surname in 1780
  • Reginald Arthur Tatton (1857-1926), English landowner, owner of Cuerden Hall, a country mansion in Cuerden, Lancashire; he re-designed the gardens, introducing a pergola and gazebo, a walled garden and pond into the estate, the hall was sold to the Ministry of Defence to become Army's Headquarters North West District in 1958
  • Abbi Tatton (b. 1975), English former Internet reporter for CNN
  • James Tatton (b. 1978), English former professional snooker player
  • Sir Tatton Sykes (1826-1913), 5th Baronet, landowner of Sledmere, East Riding of Yorkshire and racehorse breeder
  • Sir Tatton Sykes (1772-1863), English "patron of the turf," younger brother of Sir Mark Masterman Sykes

HMS Prince of Wales
  • Mr. Tatton, British Ordinary Seaman, who sailed into battle on the HMS Prince of Wales (1941) and died in the sinking [7]


  1. Shirley, Evelyn Philip, The Noble and Gentle Men of England; The Arms and Descents. Westminster: John Bower Nichols and Sons, 1866, Print.
  2. Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
  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)
  4. Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 20th August 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/aurora
  5. Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 20th July 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/duchess-of-northumberland
  6. Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 21st May 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/cressy
  7. HMS Prince of Wales Crew members. (Retrieved 2014, April 9) . Retrieved from http://www.forcez-survivors.org.uk/biographies/listprincecrew.html


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