ORTON
Orton is an English locational surname that has been recorded since the earliest surviving chronicles of the medieval British Isles.
The name is derived from several settlements named Orton throughout England. In most cases the place‑name is said to come from the Old English word ore, meaning ore or metal, and the term tun, meaning an enclosure, farm or settlement; thus the surname may originally have been applied to a person who lived near or worked in a settlement associated with metalworking or mining.
Other possible origins branch from the place‑name itself. The Domesday Book of 1086 records the villages as Ovretone, Ovretune and Worton, all containing the second element tun. The first element varies: in Cambridgeshire and Warwickshire it is believed to be from the Old English ofer meaning river; elsewhere it is not determinable whether it derives from the same word meaning overhead, from the Old Norse orri meaning black‑cock, or from the Gaelic elements or (border) and dun (fort) in the Scottish locality near Fochabers.
The earliest known spelling of the family name is that of Aethelweard de Ortun, dated 1051, recorded in the Old English Byname Register during the reign of King Edward the Confessor. Following this, medieval registers list the name throughout England: for example, the Feet of Fines of Oxfordshire contain a Henry de Orton in 1285, and Northamptonshire Death Registers mention a Hugh Orton in 1357. In Scotland the name is first recorded in 1230 with Nicholas de Ortune of the Bridge of Spey.
London church records provide further illustration of the surname’s persistence through time. In 1539 a marriage between Richard Orton and Elizabethe Kyet is documented at St. Martin Pomeroy, and in 1553 the christening of Margery, daughter of John Orton, is recorded at St. Michael Bassishaw.
The Orton family was awarded a coat of arms described as a blue shield with a gold lion rampant, a heraldic badge that signifieres distinction and recognition during the medieval period.
In contemporary usage the name remains a recognised English and Anglo‑Scottish surname, often indicating ancestral ties to one of the several villages named Orton across the British Isles. The surname’s etymology reflects a common medieval practice of identifying individuals by their place of origin or by a prominent local feature, in this case the association with metal ore or a riverside settlement.
Typical given names associated with the Orton surname
Male
- Andrew
- Christopher
- David
- John
- Mark
- Matthew
- Michael
- Paul
- Peter
- Richard
- Robert
Female
- Christine
- Elizabeth
- Helen
- Joan
- Joanne
- Julie
- Linda
- Margaret
- Patricia
- Rebecca
- Sarah
- Susan
Similar and related surnames
Related and similar names are generated algorithmically based on the spelling, and may not necessarily share an etymology.
How to communicate the surname Orton in...
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Morse
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There are approximately 5,947 people named Orton in the UK. That makes it roughly the 1,595th most common surname in Britain. Around 91 in a million people in Britain are named Orton.
Surname type: Location or geographical feature
Origin: English
Region of origin: British Isles
Country of origin: England
Religion of origin: Christian
Language of origin: English
Famous people named Orton
- Randy Orton - American professional wrestler
- Beth Orton - Musician
- Joe Orton - Playwright and author (1933 to 1967)
- Peter Orton - Television producer (1943 to 2007)
- Charles Orton - (1910 to 1940)
- Job Orton - Minister (1717 to 1783)
- David Orton - Canadian ecologist (1934 to 2011)
- Harold Orton - Linguist (1898 to 1975)
Names and descriptions courtesy of Wikipedia, and may contain errors. This is not intended to be an exhaustive list of every famous person with this name.