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

United States Canada Australia West Indies

Contemporary Notables Historic Events Related Stories Suggested Reading Citations

Stockton History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England-Alt
England

Etymology of Stockton

What does the name Stockton mean?

Of all the Anglo-Saxon names to come from Britain, Stockton is one of the most ancient. The name is a result of the original family having lived in one of a variety of similarly-named places. Settlements called Stockton are found in Cheshire, Herefordshire, Norfolk, Shropshire, Wiltshire, Warwickshire, and the West Riding of Yorkshire. Stockton Heath is in Cheshire, and Stockton on Tees is in Durham. Stockton on Teme is in Worcestershire, and Stockton on the Forest is in the North Riding of Yorkshire. The surname Stockton belongs to the large category of Anglo-Saxon habitation names, which are derived from pre-existing names for towns, villages, parishes, or farmsteads.

Early Origins of the Stockton family

The surname Stockton was first found in Cheshire where they held a family seat from ancient times. Stocking Abbey was an abbey in North Yorkshire

Early History of the Stockton family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Stockton research. Another 92 words (7 lines of text) covering the years 1470, 1630, 1670, 1680, 1692 and 1728 are included under the topic Early Stockton History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Stockton Spelling Variations

The first dictionaries that appeared in the last few hundred years did much to standardize the English language. Before that time, spelling variations in names were a common occurrence. The language was changing, incorporating pieces of other languages, and the spelling of names changed with it. Stockton has been spelled many different ways, including Stockton, Stockden, Stockdon, Stogdon, Stocking and others.

Early Notables of the Stockton family

Notables of this surname at this time include:

John Stockton, Lord Mayor of London in 1470
Owen Stockton (1630-1680), was an English Puritan divine, fourth son of Owen Stockton, prebendary of Chester Cathedral, born at Chester. "His father traced descent from a younger branch of the Stockto...

Stockton Ranking

In the United States, the name Stockton is the 2,118^th most popular surname with an estimated 14,922 people with that name. 1

Stockton migration to the United States +

Thousands of English families in this era began to emigrate the New World in search of land and freedom from religious and political persecution. Although the passage was expensive and the ships were dark, crowded, and unsafe, those who made the voyage safely were rewarded with opportunities unavailable to them in their homeland. Research into passenger and immigration lists has revealed some of the very first Stocktons to arrive in North America:

Stockton Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Jonas Stockton, aged 40, who arrived in Virginia in 1620 aboard the ship "Bona Nova" 2
Timothey Stockton, aged 14, who arrived in Virginia in 1620 aboard the ship "Bona Nova" 2
Timothee Stockton, who landed in Virginia in 1623 2
Mr. Thomas Stockton, (b. 1614), aged 21, British settler traveling aboard the ship "Truelove" arriving in Massachusetts Bay in 1635 3
Richard Stockton, who landed in Long Island in 1656 2

Stockton Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Philip Stockton, who settled in Virginia in 1703
William Stockton, a bonded passenger who arrived in America in 1744

Stockton Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

J E Stockton, who landed in San Francisco, California in 1850 2
William Stockton, who landed in San Francisco, California in 1851 2
Y C Stockton, who arrived in San Francisco, California in 1851 2

Stockton migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Stockton Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century

Lieut. Andrew Stockton U.E. who settled in Sussex Vale [Sussex Corner], Kings County, New Brunswick c. 1784 he served in the Loyal Foresters 4
Lieut. Andrew Hunter Stockton U.E. who settled in Canada c. 1784 4
Major. Richard V Stockton U.E. who settled in Kings County, New Brunswick c. 1784 he served in the New Jersey Volunteers 4
Major. Richard Witham Stockton U.E. who settled in Canada c. 1784 4
Mr. Samuel Stockton U.E. who settled in Kings County, New Brunswick c. 1784 4
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Stockton migration to Australia +

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

Stockton Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mr. Joseph Stockton, English convict who was convicted in Chester, Cheshire, England for life, transported aboard the "Enchantress"on 6th April 1833, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 5
Mr. George Stockton, British convict who was convicted in Warwick, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Henry Tanner" on 27th June 1834, settling in New South Wales, Australia 6
Mr. Thomas Stockton, (b. 1814), aged 26, American blacksmith who was convicted in Kingston, Ontario, Canada for life for unlawful invasion, transported aboard the "Brothers" on 28th September 1839, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land), captured at the battle of Windmill in 1838 7
Mr. James Stockton, English convict who was convicted in Chester, Cheshire, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Earl Grey" on 4th October 1842, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 8

Stockton migration to West Indies +

The British first settled the British West Indies around 1604. They made many attempts but failed in some to establish settlements on the Islands including Saint Lucia and Grenada. By 1627 they had managed to establish settlements on St. Kitts (St. Christopher) and Barbados, but by 1641 the Spanish had moved in and destroyed some of these including those at Providence Island. The British continued to expand the settlements including setting the First Federation in the British West Indies by 1674; some of the islands include Barbados, Bermuda, Cayman Island, Turks and Caicos, Jamaica and Belize then known as British Honduras. By the 1960's many of the islands became independent after the West Indies Federation which existed from 1958 to 1962 failed due to internal political conflicts. After this a number of Eastern Caribbean islands formed a free association. 9

Stockton Settlers in West Indies in the 18th Century

Edmund Stockton, who settled in Jamaica in 1738

Contemporary Notables of the name Stockton (post 1700) +

Richard Stockton (1730-1781), American signer of Declaration of Independence
John Stockton, American basketball player
Frank R Stockton (1834-1902), American humorist and story writer
John Houston Stockton (b. 1962), American professional (NBA) basketball player
David Knapp Stockton (b. 1941), American professional (PGA) golfer
Robert Stockton (1795-1866), American naval officer, eponym of Stockton, California
J. D. Stockton, American Democratic Party politician, Alternate Delegate to Democratic National Convention from North Carolina, 1956
Gilchrist Baker Stockton (b. 1890), American Democratic Party politician, Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Florida, 1924 (alternate), 1928 (member, Committee on Permanent Organization), 1940 (alternate); U.S. Minister to Austria, 1930-33
George L. Stockton, American Democratic Party politician, Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Tennessee, 1924 (alternate), 1936
Gene Stockton, American Democratic Party politician, Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Texas, 1980
... (Another 23 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Historic Events for the Stockton family +

RMS Lusitania

Mr. Alfred Stockton, English 3rd Class passenger residing in Marion, USA, who sailed aboard the RMS Lusitania (1915) and survived the sinking 10

USS Arizona

Mr. Louis Alton Stockton, American Seaman Second Class from California, USA working aboard the ship "USS Arizona" when she sunk during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on 7th December 1941, he died in the sinking 11

Citations +

"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)
Pilgrim Ship's of 1600's. Retrieved October 6th 2021 from https://www.packrat-pro.com/ships/shiplist.htm
Rubincam, Milton. The Old United Empire Loyalists List. Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc, 1976. (Originally published as; United Empire Loyalists. The Centennial of the Settlement of Upper Canada. Rose Publishing Company, 1885.) ISBN 0-8063-0331-X
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 20th April 2022). https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/enchantress
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 7th January 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/henry-tanner
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 5th November 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/buffalo
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 16th August 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/earl-gray
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies
Lusitania Passenger List - The Lusitania Resource. (Retrieved 2014, March 6) . Retrieved from http://www.rmslusitania.info/lusitania-passenger-list/
Pearl Harbour: USS Arizona Casualties List Pearl Harbour December 7, 1941. (Retrieved 2018, July 31st). Retrieved from http://pearl-harbor.com/arizona/casualtylist.html