Hampton History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Etymology of Hampton

What does the name Hampton mean?

Of all the Anglo-Saxon names to come from Britain, Hampton is one of the most ancient. The name is a result of the original family having lived in the village of Hampton in the dioceses of Worcester, Hereford, London, Exeter, and Lichford. 1 Another source notes “there are at least thirteen parishes of this name in England, representing the the Dioceses of Worcester, London, Hereford, Oxford, Exeter, and Lichfield.” 2

The family may have originated in Normandy as the Magni Rotuli Scaccarii Normanniae lists: William de Hantona, Normandy, 1198 and William, Aelis, Gervase, Osbert, Walter de Hantona, Normandy, 1180-98. Alexander, Reiner, Roger, Simon de Hamton, England, 1198. 3

Early Origins of the Hampton family

The surname Hampton was first found in Staffordshire where they were recorded as a family of great antiquity seated at Wolverhampton with manor and estates in that shire. However, the name has three distinct origins: from the Old English word ham-tun as in “home farm, homestead”; from the Old English words hamm + tun, meaning “farmstead in an enclosure or river bend”; and finally from the Old English hean + tun meaning “high farmstead.” 4

The earliest place name found was Hamtona in 716 which later became Hampton Lovett which is now a village and civil parish in the Wychavon district of the county of Worcestershire. The Domesday Book listed the following place names: Hamtune, Hantone, Hamntone Hantune, Hantone and Hantun. 4

The first record of the family was found in Oxfordshire where the Cartulary of Osney Abbey lists Philip de Hamtona in 1166. Later, Edith de Hampton was listed in the Assize Rolls for Worcestershire in 1221 and Richard Hampton was found in the Subsidy Rolls for Sussex in 1327. 5

The Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 had quite a few listings of the family: John de Hampton, Somerset; William de Hamptone, Huntingdonshire; Nicholas de Hampton, Wiltshire; Philip de Hampton, Cambridgeshire; and Geoffrey de Hampton, Lincolnshire. 2

But another source claims the name goes back to Saxon times. “Some Hamptons (e.g. in cos. Hereford and Somerset) occur in charters of the A.- Saxon period as Hamtún and Homtún; others (e.g. in cos. Gloucester and War­wick) as Heámtúne or Heántúne. South­ampton occurs as Hamtún (‘æt Hamtúne’) in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, A.D. 837, which gives name to Hampshire. Some Hamptons (e.g. High Hampton, Devonshire, and Hampton-on-the-Hill, Warwickshire) indicate their etymology by later prefixes or suffixes.” 6

In Scotland, the name is “from one of the many Hamptons in England. Bardsley says there are at least thirteen parishes of the name there Rogerus de Hamtone witnessed resignation of the lands of Edeluestun to the church of Glasgow, 1233.” 7

The Hamptons, part of the East End of Long Island in New York are a group of villages and hamlets in the towns of Southampton and East Hampton that collectively date back to the late nineteenth century when the area changed from a farming to a popular destination for the wealthy.

Early History of the Hampton family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Hampton research. Another 81 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1166, 1221, 1327, 1552, 1611, 1612, 1625 and 1890 are included under the topic Early Hampton History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Hampton 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. Hampton has been spelled many different ways, including Hampton, Hamptonne and others.

Early Notables of the Hampton family

Notables of this surname at this time include:

• Christopher Hampton (1552-1625), Archbishop of Armagh, called John in the printed Patent Rolls, was born at Calais in 1552, and was of English descent, educated at Corpus Christi College, Cambridge. O…
• but Hampton acted on this occasion as moderator of the divinity disputations, and not as vice-chancellor. ” 8