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  ASTON Family Crest / ASTON Coat of ArmsThe surname of ASTON was a locational name 'of Aston' parishes in Peterborough, Chester and Manchester. Local surnames, by far the largest group, derived from a place name where the man held land or from the place from which he had come, or where he actually lived. These local surnames were originally preceded by a preposition such as "de", "atte", "by" or "in". The names may derive from a manor held, from working in a religious dwelling or from literally living by a wood or marsh or by a stream. Following the Crusades in Europe a need was felt for a family name. This was recognized by those of noble blood, who realised the prestige and practical advantage it would add to their status. Early records of the name mention Roger de Astun, County Salop, 1273. Richard de Aston, was documented in the year 1206 in the County of Gloucestershire. Johannes Aystyn of Yorkshire was listed in the Yorkshire Poll Tax of 1379. Henricus Astyn, 1379 ibid. Over the centuries, most people in Europe have accepted their surname as a fact of life, as irrevocable as an act of God, however much the individual may have liked or disliked the surname, they were stuck with it, and people rarely changed them by personal choice. A more common form of variation was in fact involuntary, when an official change was made, in other words, a clerical error. Among the humbler classes of European society, and especially among illiterate people, individuals were willing to accept the mistakes of officials, clerks and priests as officially bestowing a new version of their surname, just as they had meekly accepted the surname they had been born with. In North America, the linguistic problems confronting immigration officials at Ellis Island in the 19th century were legendary as a prolific source of Anglicization.The associated arms are recorded in Sir Bernard Burkes General Armory. Ulster King of Arms in 1884. |
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