Walston History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

The lineage of the name Walston begins with the Anglo-Saxon tribes in Britain. It is a result of when they lived in one of a variety of similarly-named places. Settlements named Woolstone are in Buckinghamshire and Devon. Wolstan is a parish in Warwickshire and Woolston is a hamlet in Somerset. The surname Walston 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 Walston family

The surname Walston was first found in Lancashire at Woolstone, a township, in the parish and union of Warrington, hundred of West Derby. Saint Walstan (or Walston) (died 1016) dedicated his life to farming and the care of farm animals and is accordingly the patron saint of farms, farmers, farmhands, ranchers and husbandrymen.

"[Bawburgh, or Babur in Norfolk] is distinguished as the birthplace of St. Walstan; he lived at Taverham, where he died in 1016, and his remains were removed hither, and enshrined in a chapel in the parish church. The resort of pilgrims to visit his shrine greatly enriched the vicar and officiating priests, who, in 1309, rebuilt the church; but the chapel in which the remains of the saint were deposited was demolished in the reign of Henry VIII." 1

Early History of the Walston family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Walston research. Another 80 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1465, 1535, 1553, 1561, 1570, 1573, 1579, 1594, 1670, 1705 and 1733 are included under the topic Early Walston History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Walston 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 Walston has undergone many spelling variations, including Woolston, Woolton, Wolston and others.

Early Notables of the Walston family

Notables of this surname at this time include: John Woolton (or Wolton) (1535?-1594), English Bishop of Exeter. He was born at Whalley in Lancashire about 1535 (according to Godwin he was born at Wigan), was the son of John Woolton of Wigan, by his wife Isabella, daughter of John Nowell of Bead Hall, Whalley. "He was admitted student of Brasenose College, Oxford, on...
Another 63 words (4 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Walston Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Walston Ranking

In the United States, the name Walston is the 4,165^th most popular surname with an estimated 7,461 people with that name. 2

Walston migration to the United States +

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 Walston were among those contributors:

Walston Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Miss Jane Walston, (b. 1616), aged 19, British settler traveling aboard the ship "Truelove" arriving in Massachusetts Bay in 1635 3

Walston Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

W C Walston, who landed in San Francisco, California in 1851 4
John Walston, who arrived in Mobile, Ala in 1861 4
S. P. Walston, aged 24, who landed in America, in 1892

Walston Settlers in United States in the 20th Century

W. H. Walston, who settled in America, in 1907
Mary Walston, aged 0, who landed in America, in 1910
Mrs. Wm. H. Walston, aged 26, who immigrated to the United States, in 1910
Dora Walston, aged 29, who landed in America from Notts, England, in 1920
W.R. Walston, aged 24, who landed in America, in 1920
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Contemporary Notables of the name Walston (post 1700) +

Ray Walston (1914-2001), American stage, television and film actor best known as the title character on the 1960s situation comedy My Favorite Martian
Robert Harold Walston (1928-1987), American NFL football wide receiver and placekicker
Henry David Leonard George Walston CVO, JP (1912-1991), Baron Walston, British agricultural researcher
James Walston (b. 1949), Irish professor of international relations

Citations +

Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
Pilgrim Ship's of 1600's. Retrieved October 6th 2021 from https://www.packrat-pro.com/ships/shiplist.htm
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)