Garton

GAR-tən

A habitational surname meaning “from Garton,” from places in Yorkshire.

The #9,493 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 90,145 Americans shares it.

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Etymology

Garton is a locational surname taken from one of the places called Garton in Yorkshire. The place-name is generally understood as Old English in origin, though the exact first element is not fully certain from the older surname dictionaries. In surname use, it simply meant a person who came from Garton or lived near it.

History

Bardsley and Lower both treat Garton as a local surname from the Yorkshire places of that name. The name appears in medieval records, showing that it was established in England by the later Middle Ages. It remained concentrated in the north of England before spreading more widely in later centuries, especially through migration.

Origin

locationalOld EnglishEnglish

Regions

YorkshireEngland

Variant spellings

de Garton

Fun fact

There are two parishes in Yorkshire called Garton, which is why the surname can point to more than one small place of origin.

From the historical record

“places. GARTON. Two parishes in co. York. GARTSHORE. An estate in co. Perth, which has still owners of the same name. GARVEY. The Irish family deduce themselves from the ancient monarchs of that island, through Garbhe or Garvey, that is " The Warlike,"' Prince of Morisk, co. j\Iayo, in the ^Y. cent. B.L.G. GARVIE.…”

— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom
Confidence: mixed. Sources: A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with special American instances, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames (alternate scan), Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom, British Family Names: their origin and meaning (1st ed.).

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