Norton is a surname with origin from the basic Early English ''norþ + tun'', meaning North settlement (cf Weston, Sutton and Easton for other surnames derived from points of the compass). There are many English villages called Norton or including Norton as part of the name, e.g. Midsomer Norton, Chipping Norton, Brize Norton etc. When surnames started to be used in the Middle Ages, a man from such a village might have the name added e.g. Tom of Norton. Alternatively a man from the north side of any village might be given the name Tom Norton to distinguish him from a Tom from the south side (Tom Sutton). A secondary source for the surname is from the

anglicisation Anglicisation is the process by which a place or person becomes influenced by English culture or British culture, or a process of cultural and/or linguistic change in which something non-English becomes English. It can also refer to the influen ...

of Celtic (Irish and Scottish Gaelic) surnames (e.g. Naughtan). It is also sometimes found as a Jewish surname (probably from the anglicisation of the German surname Norden). The famous

Emperor Norton Joshua Abraham Norton (February 4, 1818January 8, 1880), known as Emperor Norton, was a resident of San Francisco, California who, in 1859, proclaimed himself "Norton I., Emperor of the United States". In 1863, after Napoleon III invaded Mexi ...

in San Francisco was of Jewish origin from a

South African __NOTOC__ South African may relate to: * The nation of South Africa * South African Airways * South African English * South African people * Languages of South Africa * Southern Africa Southern Africa is the southernmost subregion of the Afric ...

settler family.

Distribution

As a surname, Norton is the 660th most common surname in Great Britain, with 14,856 bearers. It is most common in Lancashire, where it is the 389th most common surname, with 1,837 bearers. Other concentrations include North Lanarkshire, (28th, 1,773), Hereford and Worcester, (50th, 1,733), Gloucestershire, (145th, 1,827), Devon (159th, 1,791), West Yorkshire, (235th, 1,755),

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the west, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south. Cheshire's county t ...

, (235th, 1,731), and Essex, (377th, 1,719). In Ireland, the surname could be of both Irish and English origin. The Nortons of

Athlone Athlone (; ) is a town on the border of County Roscommon and County Westmeath, Ireland. It is located on the River Shannon near the southern shore of Lough Ree. It is the second most populous town in the Midlands Region with a population of ...

are descended from Feradach Ó Neachtain who died in 1790.Irish Family Names by Brian DeBreffny, published by Gill & MacMillan in 1982

People

Fictional characters

* Ed and Trixie Norton, in the TV series '' The Honeymooners'' * Warden Samuel Norton, in the 1982 novella ''

Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption ''Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption'' is a novella by Stephen King from his 1982 collection ''Different Seasons'', subtitled ''Hope Springs Eternal''. The novella has also been published as a standalone short book. The story is entirely to ...

'' and 1994 film '' The Shawshank Redemption'' * Susan Norton, in the 1975 novel ''

'Salem's Lot ''Salem's Lot'' is a 1975 horror fiction, horror novel by American author Stephen King. It was his second published novel. The story involves a writer named Ben Mears who returns to the town of Jerusalem's Lot (Stephen King), Jerusalem's Lot (o ...

'' * Mr. Norton, in the 1952 novel '' Invisible Man'' * Dr. Dennett Norton, in the 2014 film ''

RoboCop ''RoboCop'' is a 1987 American science fiction action film directed by Paul Verhoeven and written by Edward Neumeier and Michael Miner. The film stars Peter Weller, Nancy Allen, Daniel O'Herlihy, Ronny Cox, Kurtwood Smith, and Miguel Ferre ...

'' * Norton Campbell, a playable survivor in the Chinese horror game ''

Identity V ''Identity V'' is a free-to-play asymmetrical multiplayer survival horror game developed and published by Chinese company NetEase. It was released in July 2018 for mobile devices. It is available on the iOS App Store, Android Google Play Stor ...

''.

Distribution

People

Fictional characters

References

See also