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. 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.
[1]CITATION[CLOSE]
Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)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.
[2]CITATION[CLOSE]
Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
Early History of the Wooton family
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Wooton research.
Another 173 words (12 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 and 1764 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 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...
Another 72 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.
Migration of the Wooton family to the New World and Oceana
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 [3]CITATION[CLOSE]
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) - Richard Wooton, who landed in Virginia in 1665 [3]CITATION[CLOSE]
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) - Thomas Wooton, who arrived in Maryland or Virginia in 1669 [3]CITATION[CLOSE]
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) - John Wooton, who landed in Maryland in 1671 [3]CITATION[CLOSE]
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) - ... (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 [3]CITATION[CLOSE]
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)
Wooton Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
- E Wooton, aged 56, who arrived in New York in 1812 [3]CITATION[CLOSE]
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)
Wooton Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century
- James Wooton, who settled in Newfoundland in 1706 [4]CITATION[CLOSE]
Seary E.R., Family Names of the Island of Newfoundland, Montreal: McGill's-Queen's Universtity Press 1998 ISBN 0-7735-1782-0
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