I see someone reached this site earlier this week by typing in to the search engine: ‘What sort of surname is Norton’. I like to think the answer is ‘a rather fine one’.
Norton as far as I am aware is old English for north tun or north town. It is to be found in various place names, such as Chipping Norton. There is a village in the West country called Norton St Philip. I have never been but a fellow peer once kindly send me a picture postcard of the village.
People with the surname are to be found especially – as was the case in the 1880s – in Lincolnshire and East Anglia. Given that it is not uncommon in these areas, I was surprised to see that were only just over 12,000 Nortons listed in the UK (just over 9,000 in the 1881 census). We appear to be even more special than I thought.
I appreciate this post is likely to be of limited interest – unless your surname is Norton. However, given the number of Nortons in the USA (over 61,000) it may achieve a more international readership.
Certainly there is a an active (largely US based?) nortonfamily.net website though on a quick glance you’ve escaped their notice.
Croft: They don’t know what they are missing.
Are you descendant of Lady Francis & Sir George Norton, the former buried in Westminster Abbey ?
Carl.H: I think I can say with some confidence that the answer is no. Nor am I related to Sir Fletcher Norton, Speaker of the House of Commons who was voted out of the Speakership. A far as I am aware, I have no eminent forebears.
“However, given the number of Nortons in the USA (over 61,000) it may achieve a more international readership.”
There is much more than that, My Lord. Guess what the name of the only emperor in the history of the United States is…
Oh, yes.
The Duke of Waltham: I am indeed aware of Emperor Norton. Whenever I address an audience of people from San Francisco, I ask if they are aware of the eccentric who became Emperor Norton in the city.
One more thing: my initial hunch was proved correct, and the opposite of Norton is, indeed, Sutton. Kind of like Norfolk vs Suffolk, I suppose.
Lord Norton, I noticed recently you have lost your top spot in a Google search for “Philip Norton” to the web designer who’d been keen to displace you. (This was once discussed on Lords of the Blog, but I can’t find it now.) Perhaps all commenters should pledge to link to your Wikipedia page from their own websites in order to restore you to your rightful place!
Jonathan: Thanks for this intelligence. Clearly, this means war. I must mobilise…
I would go to these lengths, however:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-10805391
Jonathan: I wasn’t planning to expend any money on the exercise! Anyway, if you google Lord Norton of Louth I’m assuming there are no competitors.