TROUGHTON
The surname Troughton is of English origin. It is a locational name that originates from a place of settlement, rather than a patronymic or occupational designation.
The etymology of the name is rooted in the Old English words trēow, meaning “tree”, and tūn, meaning “enclosure” or “settlement”. Consequently, the name would have been applied to a person who lived near or was associated with a settlement situated amongst trees.
In some cases the surname derives from the village of Troughton near Ulverston in the county of Lancashire, or from the village of Trotton in Sussex. Both villages share the same linguistic ancestry, stemming from the pre‑7th‑century Traett tun, which translates as the farm belonging to a man named Traett. The personal name Traett is thought to mean “defiant”, thereby giving the place name a distinct historical nuance.
Because the name is locational, it would have been adopted by a person after leaving their original village. Over the centuries the spelling of locational surnames was highly variable, often reflecting the pronunciation of the era rather than a fixed orthography. This is evident in the variation seen in the forms Troughton, Trotton, Trighton and Trittam, which all share a common origin but differ in their recorded spellings.
Historic parish registers provide several early instances of the name. For example, a William Trogton is recorded at St Mary’s Church in Ulverston in 1547, while an Ann Troughton appears in the Wills Register of Richmond in 1584. Further records include a Mary Trittam christened at St James, Clerkenwell in London in 1624, and a James Throughton who married Miss Middleton at St George’s Chapel, Mayfair, in 1742. These entries demonstrate both the geographical spread of the surname and the evolution of its orthography over time.
Typical given names associated with the Troughton surname
Male
- Andrew
- Christian
- Christopher
- Craig
- David
- Derek
- James
- John
- Michael
- Paul
- Robert
- Roger
- Stephen
- Thomas
- William
Female
- Claire
- Elizabeth
- Gill
- Gillian
- Helen
- Irene
- Lucy
- Margaret
- Mary
- Michele
- Patricia
- Pauline
- 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 Troughton in...
Braille
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Morse
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Semaphore
There are approximately 1,277 people named Troughton in the UK. That makes it roughly the 6,099th most common surname in Britain. Around 20 in a million people in Britain are named Troughton.
Famous people named Troughton
- Patrick Troughton - Actor (1920 to 1987)
- David Troughton - Actor
- Sam Troughton - Actor
- Michael Troughton - Actor
- Jim Troughton - Cricket player of England.
- Lionel Troughton - Cricketer (1879 to 1933)
- Medhurst Troughton - Cricketer (1839 to 1912)
- Sammy Troughton - Northern Irish football player and manager
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.