Contents [hide]

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

Ireland United States Australia New Zealand West Indies

Contemporary Notables Historic Events Related Stories Suggested Reading Sources

Heaton History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Ireland

Etymology of Heaton

What does the name Heaton mean?

Heaton is a name of ancient Anglo-Saxon origin and comes from the family once having lived in one of a variety of similarly-named places. Settlements named Heaton are in Northumberland and the West Riding of Yorkshire. Heaton Norris, Heaton under Horwich, Heaton with Oxcliffe, Great Heaton, and Little Heaton are all in Lancashire. Places called Capheaton and Kirkheaton are found in Northumberland, while settlements named Cleckheaton, Hanging Heaton, and Kirkheaton are all in the West Riding of Yorkshire. The surname Heaton belongs to the large category of Anglo-Saxon habitation names that are derived from pre-existing names for towns, villages, parishes, or farmsteads.

Early Origins of the Heaton family

The surname Heaton was first found in West Yorkshire at Heaton, the oldest place name in England so named. The village dates back to the Domesday Book of 1086 where it was listed as Etone and literally meant "high farmstead." 1

The parish of Mirfield has an interesting story about its chapel and the family. "This place, at the time of the heptarchy, formed part of the parish of Dewsbury. It afterwards belonged to Sir John Heton, lord of the manor, whose lady, on her way to the parish church, before dawn, on Christmas Day, being attacked by robbers, and her attendant killed, the pope, on the intercession of her husband, who was then at Rome, granted permission to the family to build a chapel here, which subsequently became parochial." 2

"The manor [of Ellingham, Northumberland] in Henry III's reign, was held of the king in capite by Ranulph de Guagy; it passed in 1286 to Roger de Clifford, and in 1378 was possessed by Sir Allan de Heton, who acquired in that year great honour at the siege of Berwick." 2

Another early branch of the family was found in the parish of Emley, again the West Riding of Yorkshire. "This place belonged to the family of Heton, whose estates passed to the Saviles, and whose ancient mansion of timber frame-work, surrounded by a moat, stood in an extensive park, more than two miles in length, but which has been long divided into farms." 2

Early History of the Heaton family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Heaton research. Another 82 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1300, 1372, 1545, 1552 and 1609 are included under the topic Early Heaton History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Heaton Spelling Variations

Sound was what guided spelling in the essentially pre-literate Middle Ages, so one person's name was often recorded under several variations during a single lifetime. Also, before the advent of the printing press and the first dictionaries, the English language was not standardized. Therefore, spelling variations were common, even among the names of the most literate people. Known variations of the Heaton family name include Heaton, Heton and others.

Early Notables of the Heaton family

Distinguished members of the family include

Martin Heaton (1552-1609), Bishop of Ely, son of George Heton of Heton Hall in the parish of Dean, Lancashire, and Joanna, the daughter of Sir Martin Bowes, Lord Mayor of London in 15453...

Heaton Ranking

In the United States, the name Heaton is the 2,592^nd most popular surname with an estimated 12,435 people with that name. 4 However, in the United Kingdom, the name Heaton is ranked the 878^th most popular surname with an estimated 7,789 people with that name. 5

Migration of the Heaton family to Ireland

Some of the Heaton family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 31 words (2 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Heaton migration to the United States +

For political, religious, and economic reasons, thousands of English families boarded ships for Ireland, Canada, the America colonies, and many of smaller tropical colonies in the hope of finding better lives abroad. Although the passage on the cramped, dank ships caused many to arrive in the New World diseased and starving, those families that survived the trip often went on to make valuable contributions to those new societies to which they arrived. Early immigrants bearing the Heaton surname or a spelling variation of the name include:

Heaton Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Nathanial Heaton, who settled in Boston in 1620
Samuel Heaton, from Lincolnshire, who landed in Boston, Massachusetts in 1634 aboard the ship "Griffin"
Mrs. Elizabeth Heaton, from Lincolnshire, who arrived in Boston, Massachusetts in 1634 aboard the ship "Griffin" 6
Jabez Heaton, from Lincolnshire, who arrived in Boston, Massachusetts in 1634 aboard the ship "Griffin" 6
Leah Heaton, from Lincolnshire, who arrived in Boston, Massachusetts in 1634 aboard the ship "Griffin" 6
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Heaton Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Margaret Heaton, aged 28, who landed in Pennsylvania in 1803 7
John Heaton, who landed in America in 1809 7
Edward Heaton, aged 32, who landed in New York in 1812 7
Elizabeth, George, James, John, Robert, William Heaton, all, who arrived in Philadelphia between 1840 and 1865
David Heaton, who arrived in Colorado in 1894 7

Heaton migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Heaton Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century

Andrew Alexander Heaton, who landed in Canada in 1841

Heaton migration to Australia +

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

Heaton Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Thomas Heaton, a engineer, who arrived in New South Wales, Australia sometime between 1825 and 1832
James Heaton, a brush-maker, who arrived in New South Wales, Australia sometime between 1825 and 1832
Samuel Evans Heaton, English convict from Warwick, who was transported aboard the "Argyle" on March 5th, 1831, settling in Van Diemen's Land, Australia 8
Mr. John Heaton, English convict who was convicted in Lancaster, Lancashire, England for 14 years for highway robbery, transported aboard the "Camden" on 21st September 1832, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 9
Mr. James Heaton, English convict who was convicted in Lancaster, Lancashire, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Aurora" on 18th June 1835, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 10
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Heaton 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:

Heaton Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

W. Heaton, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Cashmere" in 1854 11
R. Heaton, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Cashmere" in 1854 11
John Heaton, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "African" in 1860
Sarah A. Heaton, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "African" in 1860

Contemporary Notables of the name Heaton (post 1700) +

David Edward Heaton (1941-2025), American politician, Member of the Iowa House of Representatives (2013-2019)
Maurice Heaton (1900-1990), Swiss-born American glass artist
Marty Heaton (b. 1959), former American football coach
Leonard D. Heaton (1902-1983), Surgeon General of the United States Army
Joe L. Heaton (b. 1951), United States federal judge
Henry Heaton (1846-1927), American amateur mathematician
Harold R. Heaton (b. 1940), American political cartoonist
Eliza Putnam Heaton (1860-1919), American journalist, editor
Patricia Helen Heaton (b. 1958), is an American actress, known for her roles in Thirtysomething (1989-1991), Memoirs of an Invisible Man and Beethoven (both 1992)
Penny Heaton, American physician, Global Therapeutics Lead for Vaccines at Johnson & Johnson
... (Another 24 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Historic Events for the Heaton family +

HMAS Sydney II

Mr. Edmund Heaton (1913-1941), Australian Acting Electrical Artificer 4th Class from Botany, New South Wales, Australia, who sailed into battle aboard HMAS Sydney II and died in the sinking 12

HMS Hood

Mr. Albert Heaton (b. 1912), Scottish Able Seaman serving for the Royal Navy from Harraby, Carlisle, Cumberland, Scotland, who sailed into battle and died in the HMS Hood sinking 13

Sources +

Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. Print
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
"UK surname ranking." UK Surname map, https://www.surnamemap.eu/unitedkingdom/surnames_ranking.php?p=10
Pilgrim Ship's of 1600's Retrieved January 6th 2023, retrieved 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)
State Library of Queensland. (Retrieved 2015, January 8) Argyle voyage to Van Diemen's Land, Australia in 1831 with 251 passengers. Retrieved from http://www.convictrecords.com.au/ships/argyle/1831
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 2nd December 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/camden
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 20th August 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/aurora
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 5th November 2010). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
HMAS Sydney II, Finding Sydney Foundation - Roll of Honour. (Retrieved 2014, April 24) . Retrieved from http://www.findingsydney.com/roll.asp
H.M.S. Hood Association-Battle Cruiser Hood: Crew Information - H.M.S. Hood Rolls of Honour, Men Lost in the Sinking of H.M.S. Hood, 24th May 1941. (Retrieved 2016, July 15) . Retrieved from http://www.hmshood.com/crew/memorial/roh_24may41.htm