Horton History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The roots of the Anglo-Saxon name Horton come from when the family resided in one of the many places called Horton; settlements of this name are particularly common in Yorkshire. The surname Horton belongs to the large category of Anglo-Saxon habitation names, which are derived from pre-existing names for towns, villages, parishes, or farmsteads.

There are two possible origins of the name: “dirty or muddy farmstead,” from the Old English “horu” + “tun” and “hill frequented by harts or stags,” from the Old English “heorot” + “dun.” 1

Early Origins of the Horton family

The surname Horton was first found in the West Riding of Yorkshire at Thornton, a chapelry, in the parish and union of Bradford, wapentake of Morley. “Thornton Hall, the property of the Horton family, an ancient quadrangular structure of great size, and formerly of considerable importance, is now occupied as farm-buildings and cottages.” 2

Over in Horton, in Northumberland another branch of the family was found. “Possessions were anciently held here by the knightly family of Horton,” 2 and at Horton in the West Riding of Yorkshire, more early records of the family were found. “In the reign of Henry II., the manor was granted by Robert de Lacy to the ancestor of the Hortons.” 2

The Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 had the following entries for the family: Thomas de Horton in Devon; William de Horton in Kent; and Adam de Horton in Cambridgeshire. The Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379 listed: Emma de Horton; and Dionisia de Horton. 3

Some of the family were found in Scotland in early times: “Pieres de Hortone of Edinburghshire who rendered homage in 1296 derived his name from one of the many places named Horton in England, perhaps from one of the three places of the name in Yorkshire.” 4