Wooton History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

In ancient Anglo-Saxon England, the ancestors of the Wooton surname lived in the county of Kent. Their name, however, is derived from the Old English words wudu, meaning wood, and tun, meaning enclosure or settlement, and indicates that the original bearer of the name lived in a town by a wood. "Besides parishes in many counties, there are innumerable manors, hamlets, and single houses in England so called. The word is Anglo-Saxon, and signifies the woody enclosure." ^[1]

There are numerous places named Wooton throughout Britain, the oldest is Wooton Bassett in Wiltshire that dates back to 680, followed by Wooton Wawen in Warwickshire that dates back to 716-37 and is obviously a Anglo-Saxon place name. ^[2]

Early Origins of the Wooton family

The surname Wooton was first found in Kent where they held a family seat at Marlay, before and after the Norman Conquest in 1066. By the Hundredorum Rolls of 1273, the name was scattered throughout Britain as in Robert de Wottone and Thomas de Wodeton in Devon, Fredeshet de Wottone in Buckinghamshire, John atte Wodeton in London and John de Wodeton or John de Wutton in Oxfordshire. ^[3]

"Wotton, [in the parish of Landrake, Cornwall] which was formerly a seat belonging to an ancient family of the same name, has been totally demolished; but the estate connected with the house was carried with the heiress of Wotton to a branch of the Courtenays, after which it passed in a similar manner to the family of Rowse. " ^[4]

Early History of the Wooton family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Wooton research. Another 87 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1497, 1567, 1541, 1567, 1489, 1551, 1521, 1587, 1521, 1587, 1548, 1628, 1616, 1618, 1604, 1620, 1587, 1630, 1568, 1639, 1682, 1764, 1582, 1669 and 1607 are included under the topic Early Wooton History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Wooton 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 Wooton 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. The variations of the name Wooton include: Wooton, Wootton, Wootten, Wooten, Wooter, Wouters and others.

Early Notables of the Wooton family (pre 1700)

Notables of this surname at this time include: Nicholas Wotton (c. 1497-1567), an English diplomat, Ambassador to France during the reign of Mary, Dean of Canterbury (1541-1567); and his brother, Sir Edward Wotton (1489-1551), Treasurer of Calais and a privy councillor to Edward VI of England; Thomas Wotton (1521-1587), Sheriff of Kent; Thomas Wotton (1521-1587); and his son, Edward Wotton, 1st Baron Wotton (1548-1628), an English diplomat and administrator, Lord of...
Another 71 words (5 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Wooton Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Wooton Ranking

In the United States, the name Wooton is the 9,267^th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. ^[5]

Wooton 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 Wooton or a variant listed above:

Wooton Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Richard Wooton, who settled in Virginia in 1648
Elizabeth Wooton, who landed in Virginia in 1651 ^[6]
Richard Wooton, who landed in Virginia in 1665 ^[6]
Thomas Wooton, who arrived in Maryland or Virginia in 1669 ^[6]
John Wooton, who landed in Maryland in 1671 ^[6]
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Wooton Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

James Wooton, who arrived in Maryland in 1703 ^[6]

Wooton Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

E Wooton, aged 56, who arrived in New York in 1812 ^[6]

Wooton migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Wooton Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century

James Wooton, who settled in Newfoundland in 1706 ^[7]

Wooton 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:

Wooton Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

David Wooton, who landed in Nelson, New Zealand in 1842 aboard the ship Fifeshire

Contemporary Notables of the name Wooton (post 1700) +

Ernest Durham Wooton (b. 1941), American former sheriff of Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana
Elmer Otis Wooton (1865-1945), American botanist, professor of chemistry and botany at New Mexico State College from 1890 to 1911
Dr. Stephen Alan Wooton O.B.E., British Associate Professor in Human Nutrition at University of Southampton, was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire on 29th December 2018 for services to Nutrition and to Physical Exercise ^[8]

Citations +

^ Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
^ Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
^ Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
^ Hutchins, Fortescue, The History of Cornwall, from the Earliest Records and Traditions to the Present Time. London: William Penaluna, 1824. Print
^ https://namecensus.com/most_common_surnames.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)
^ Seary E.R., Family Names of the Island of Newfoundland, Montreal: McGill's-Queen's Universtity Press 1998 ISBN 0-7735-1782-0
^ "Birthday and New Year Honours Lists (1940 to 2019)." Issue 62507, 28 December 2018 | London Gazette, The Gazette, Dec. 2018, www.thegazette.co.uk/honours-lists