Borton
An English habitational surname, originally meaning someone who came from Bourton or a similar place-name.
The #9,395 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 89,207 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Borton is most likely a spelling form of Bourton, a place-name found in several English counties. Bourton is generally understood as Old English burh or burg, meaning “fort” or “settlement,” plus tūn, meaning “farmstead,” “village,” or “enclosure,” so the sense is roughly “farm by the fort” or “settlement near the stronghold.” The surname would have begun as a locational byname for someone identified by origin from such a place.
History
The name appears in English records in forms such as De Borton, showing its medieval habitational use. Later spelling variation produced Borton alongside Bourton, and the surname also appears in the United States through later English migration. The historical sources you provided treat it as a local surname rather than an occupational or patronymic one.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Bourton and Borton were both used in older records, reflecting how medieval surnames often shifted spelling before English spelling settled down.
From the historical record
“St.¥«er'fcCo™hill,p, iw. Derhy,3; Borton (ll.S.). .0. Annan, AnnandalA. — Local, 'of Annan' or 'Annandale,' a parish and dale in co. Dumfries, through which the river Annan”
— A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with special American instances