Norton (surname)

Norton
Family name
Meaning North Town
Language(s) of origin English
Related names Norville, Nortown, Nortone, Nortun
Caroline Norton
Charles Eliot Norton
George A. Norton

Norton is a surname with origin from the basic Early English Nor + tun, meaning North settlement (cf Weston, Sutton and Easton for other surnames derived from points of the compass). There are many English villages called Norton or including Norton as part of the name, e.g. Midsomer Norton, Chipping Norton, Brize Norton etc. When surnames started to be used in the Middle Ages, a man from such a village might have the name added e.g. Tom of Norton. Alternatively a man from the north side of any village might be given the name Tom Norton to distinguish him from a Tom from the south side (Tom Sutton). A secondary source for the surname is from the anglicisation of Celtic (Irish and Scottish Gaelic) surnames (e.g. Naughtan). To confuse the situation further it is also sometimes found as a Jewish surname (probably from the anglicisation of the German surname Norden). The famous "Emperor Norton" in San Francisco was of Jewish origin from a South African settler family.

Norton surname in Ireland

In Ireland, the surname could be of both Irish and English origin. The Nortons of Athlone are descended from Feradach O'Neachtain who died in 1790.[1]

People surnamed Norton

Fictional characters

References

  1. ↑ Irish Family Names by Brian DeBreffny, published by Gill & MacMillan in 1982
  2. ↑ David Neubauer and Henry Fradella (2010). America's Courts and the Criminal Justice System. At the center of the drama is Mr. Samuel Norton (Bob Gunton), Bible-toting warden who lays down the cardinal rule ...
  3. ↑ "Crime Writer Creates A Hero For Her Beloved, Much-Maligned South LA". National Public Radio. July 29, 2014. Retrieved 2014-07-28. The book was published last month in the U.S., and earlier this year in the U.K. Its heroine is Elouise "Lou" Norton, a scary-smart and fiercely ambitious homicide detective — and the only woman and African-American on her Los Angeles police homicide detail.
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