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Alton History Etymology Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

United States Canada Australia New Zealand

Contemporary Notables Related Stories Motto Citations

Alton History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Ireland

Etymology of Alton

What does the name Alton mean?

Ireland already had an established system of hereditary surnames when the Strongbownians arrived. Often the two traditions blended together quite well due to some of their basic similarities, but the incoming Anglo-Norman system brought in some forms that were uncommon amongst the Irish. One of these Anglo-Norman anomalies was the prevalence of local surnames, such as Alton. Local names were taken from the names of a place or a geographical feature where the person lived, held land, or was born. Originally, the place names were prefixed by de, which means from in French. This type of prefix was eventually either made a part of the surname if the place name began with a vowel or was eliminated entirely. The local surnames of these Strongbownian invaders referred to places in Normandy, or more typically England, but eventually for those Anglo-Normans that remained in Ireland, the nicknames referred to places or geographical features of the island: they became true local names. The Alton family appears to have originally lived in one of the various places called Alton in England. The name usually means old farmstead or farmstead at the source of a river. The surname Alton belongs to the class of topographic surnames, which were given to people who resided near physical features such as hills, streams, churches, or types of trees. The modern form of the surname is D'Alton derived from the original Gaelic form of the surname de Dalatún.

Early Origins of the Alton family

The surname Alton was first found in Alton, England where one source claims a Walter fled to "from France having incurred the wrath of the French king by secretly marrying his daughter."1 Another source has a clearer version of origin, namely: "that Sir Waltero de Aliton, a Frenchman, aspiring to gain the affections of his king's daughter, so incurred the displeasure of her father, that, to avoid the fury of an incensed Monarch, Sir Walterio, with his lady, privately, retired into Ireland." This same Walterio fought so valiantly that he was made "governor of the borders of Meath" where he "acquired great estates and possessions." 2 Essentially, the origins are similar; Walter (Walterio) fled with the king's daughter to England (Ireland.) We will probably never know which rendition is true, but we do know that the surname was in Ireland as early as the 13th century, so much so that the name had a Gaelic version: Dalatún.

Early History of the Alton family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Alton research. Another 88 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1200, 1369, 1561, 1610, 1659, 1679, 1792 and 1867 are included under the topic Early Alton History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Alton Spelling Variations

Medieval scribes and church officials spelled the names as they sounded, so a name was often spelled many different ways during the lifetime of a single person. The investigation of the origin of the name Alton revealed many spelling variations including Dalton, Alton, Daltone, D'Alton, Daulton, Daltoun, Altown, Altoun, Altowne, Altone, Daltowne, Daltoune, Dalten, Daltin, Dallton and many more.

Early Notables of the Alton family

Notable amongst the family up to this time was

Sir John Dalton
Lawrence Dalton (died 1561), an officer of arms at the College of Arms in London
John Dalton (c.1610-1679), an English politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1659 and 1679

Alton Ranking

In the United States, the name Alton is the 5,105^th most popular surname with an estimated 4,974 people with that name. 3

Alton migration to the United States +

The Irish emigration during the late 18th and 19th century contributed to the melting pot of nationalities in North America, and the building of a whole new era of industry and commerce in what was seen as a rich, new land. Ireland'sGreat Potato Famine resulted in the worst economic and social conditions in the island's history. And in response to the hunger, disease, and poverty, during this decade the total number of emigrants to leave for North America rivaled all the previous years combined. Those from this decade that arrived on North American shores were not warmly welcomed by the established population, but they were vital to the rapid development of the industry, agriculture, and infrastructure of the infant nations of the United States and what would become Canada. Research into early immigration and passenger lists has shown many people bearing the name Alton:

Alton Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Geo Alton, who landed in Virginia in 1811 4
W S Alton, who arrived in San Francisco, California in 1851 4
Maria G Alton, who landed in San Francisco, California in 1851 4
Alexander, Anthony, James and Richard Alton all, who arrived in Philadelphia between 1850 and 1860
Samuel Alton, who landed in Pennsylvania in 1861 4
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Alton migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Alton Settlers in Canada in the 17th Century

Estiennette Alton, who landed in Montreal in 1659
Etiennette Alton, who arrived in Montreal in 1659

Alton Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century

Miss. Ann Alton, aged 3 who immigrated to Canada, arriving at the Grosse Isle Quarantine Station in Quebec aboard the ship "Bridgetown" departing from the port of Liverpool, England but died on Grosse Isle on 29th August 1847 5

Alton migration to Australia +

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

Alton Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mr. John Alton, (b. 1799), aged 20, Irish spinner who was convicted in Dublin, Ireland for 7 years, transported aboard the "Castle Forbes" on 3rd October 1819, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 6
Mr. George Alton, English convict who was convicted in Southampton, England for 14 years, transported aboard the "Augusta Jessie" on 27 September 1834, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 7
Mr. John Alton, (b. 1801), aged 37, Irish shoe maker who was convicted in County Kerry, Ireland for 10 years for stealing, transported aboard the "Clyde" on 11th May 1838, arriving in New South Wales, Australia, he died in 1876 8

Alton 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:

Alton Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Mr. Thomas Alton, British settler travelling from London aboard the ship "Tamar" arriving in Auckland, New Zealand on 28th January 1858 9

Contemporary Notables of the name Alton (post 1700) +

David Gordon Alton (1846-1893), American professional baseball umpire active from 1871 to 1875
Robert Alton (1906-1957), American Tony award winning dancer and choreographer, best known for discovering Gene Kelly, for his collaborations with Fred Astaire, best known for his work on White Christmas (1954) and Till the Clouds Roll By (1946)
Joseph W. Alton Jr. (1919-2013), American politician, Anne Arundel County Executive (1965-1974)
John Alton A.S.C. (1901-1996), born Johann Altmann, Austrian-born, American Academy Award winning cinematographer for An American in Paris (1951)
Jess Alton, American Democratic Party politician, Candidate for U.S. Representative from Iowa 7th District, 1942 10
Davis Alton, American Republican politician, Delegate to Republican National Convention from Pennsylvania, 1860 10
Ernest Henry Alton (1873-1952), Irish university professor and academic, Provost of Trinity College, Dublin (1942–1952)
Ms. Gillian Margaret Alton O.B.E., British Chief Executive Officer for Grimsby Institute Group, was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire on 8th June 2018, for services to Education 11
Roger Alton (b. 1947), English journalist, current executive editor of The Times, former editor of The Independent and The Observer
David Patrick Paul Alton KCSG, KCMCO (b. 1951), Baron Alton of Liverpool, a British politician
... (Another 1 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

The Alton Motto +

The motto was originally a war cry or slogan. Mottoes first began to be shown with arms in the 14th and 15th centuries, but were not in general use until the 17th century. Thus the oldest coats of arms generally do not include a motto. Mottoes seldom form part of the grant of arms: Under most heraldic authorities, a motto is an optional component of the coat of arms, and can be added to or changed at will; many families have chosen not to display a motto.

Motto: Tristus et fidelis
Motto Translation: Sad and faithful

Citations +

MacLysaght, Edward, Irish Families Their Names, Arms and Origins 4th Edition. Dublin: Irish Academic, 1982. Print. (ISBN 0-7165-2364-7)
O'Hart, John, Irish Pedigrees 5th Edition in 2 Volumes. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Company, 1976. Print. (ISBN 0-8063-0737-4)
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
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)
Charbonneau, André, and Doris Drolet-Dubé. A Register of Deceased Persons at Sea and on Grosse Île in 1847. The Minister of Canadian Heritage, 1997. ISBN: 0-660-198/1-1997E (p. 12)
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 17th December 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/castle-forbes
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 14th August 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/augusta-jessie
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 24th February 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/clyde
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 26th March 2019). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, November 4) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
"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