What's in a Name ?
BURTON
This is a copy of an article published in
The Peak Advertiser, the Peak District's local free newspaper, on 25th January 1993,
reproduced by kind permission of its author, Desmond Holden.
The "What's in a Name" series is a regular feature in the Advertiser.
Articles are confined to the origins and meanings of surnames and Desmond regrets
he is unable to undertake research into the genealogy, descent or family history of individuals.
Editor's Note: Articles are provided for general interest and background only. They are
not intended to provide an exhaustive treatise for any individual family history - investigations
of which may yield quite different results.
WHAT'S IN A NAME …
Are you called "BURTON"?
This surname is widely distributed over the British Isles. It is
what is called a "habitation name" - that is to say, it was
conferred upon the original nominees to indicate that they came
from a particular place in the area which was called "Burton".
There are, in fact, at least 31 places in the U.K. called either
"Burton" simply or in combination with another name, e.g. "Burton
upon Trent".
The name is made up from two units: "Bur" and "ton". The first
signifies "a fortress" and the second means "a farm or an
enclosure". So, together, they indicate that a man once called
"Burton" was identified as "he who belongs or comes from the
fortified enclosure". Although the name occurred most frequently in
the Midlands and Northern England, the earliest records seem to
suggest a tendency to focus in Shropshire.
The name "Burton" is closely linked with the name "Burke" and its
variants, since both are derived from the very old words "burc" or
"burk" - meaning a "Fortress". These words can be traced back even
earlier to forms which now give us placenames such as Edinburgh,
Hamburg and Luxembourg, all of which show how important defence was
to our ancestors.
The second unit of the name "ton" is derived from the root word
which now gives us "town" Although the original forms of the word
were extremely different, such as "tun", "toon"; "tone" as well as
"town", they all meant the same thing: a "place that was enclosed"
and the enclosure could have described almost anything from a
farmyard, garden, as well as a settlement. Eventually the
expression was used to describe a group of dwellings, enclosed,
usually, by a wall.
The number of people who were identified as belonging to or coming
from such "fortified enclosures" must have been countless and today
the local telephone directory alone lists nearly 300. It might be
interesting to note that old meaning lying behind the word "Town"
is still preserved in the dialect word "tine" which in some parts
of the country refers to the process of building a hedge.
© Desmond Holden
From "The Peak Advertiser", 25th January 1993.
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[Created 3 Mar 2006. Last updated 24 Oct 2008 - 11:29 by Rosemary Lockie]
