Middleton
A very common English habitational surname meaning someone from the “middle farmstead” or “middle settlement.”
The #813 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 7,251 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Middleton comes from Old English middel, meaning “middle,” plus tūn, meaning “farmstead,” “enclosure,” or “settlement.” The name originally referred to a place situated between other settlements or to a centrally placed farm. Because many places in England were called Middleton, the surname arose independently in several different areas.
History
Historical surname dictionaries treat Middleton as a classic English local surname. It is especially common in counties with numerous places called Middleton, and some places were later shortened to Milton. The surname spread widely in Britain and later to North America and other English-speaking countries.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Several English places called Middleton were so common that the surname could arise independently in more than one county.
From the historical record
“MIDDLETON (Eng.) Bel. to Middleton = the Middle Farmstead [O.E. middel + tun'\ MIDDLEWICK \ (Eng.) Dweller at the MlD- MIDDLEWEEK/dle Place [O.E. middel + OTC] MIDGLEY] (Eng.) Dweller at the Big Lea MIDGLY J [O.E. micel + leak (M.E. ley"] This is the palatal form of the equiva- lent guttural Mickley.”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)