Beaton
A Scottish surname usually derived from Bethune, though in England it could also be a shortened form of Beatrice-based names.
The #7,468 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 69,194 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The strongest historical explanation is that Beaton is a Scottish form of Bethune, a French place-name and family name brought to Scotland by the Bethunes of Fife. In Scots usage the name was reshaped into spellings such as Betun, Beton, and Beaton. Some English sources also treated Beaton as a diminutive or pet-form from Beatrice, so the surname may have more than one origin in different families.
History
The Bethune connection is especially associated with Scotland, where the name became established through a notable noble family and later spread widely. English onomastic writers also noted Beaton in Cornwall and linked some examples to Beatrice-derived nicknames, which suggests independent English origins in a few lines. The surname is also familiar through Cardinal Beaton, the powerful Scottish churchman of the 16th century.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Older surname dictionaries explicitly say that Scots turned Bethune into Beaton, making this one of the clearer examples of a French name being naturalized into Scottish spelling.
From the historical record
“BEATII. A parish in FIfesbire. BEATON". This great Scottish name is a corruption of Bethune. On the occasion of tlie marriage between James II of Scot- land and JMary of Gueldres in l-i48, a member of the distinguished family of Bethune, coming into Scotland in the train of the princess, was solicited by James to…”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom