Swaton

This most interesting and unusual name, with variant spellings Swaton, Swatten and Swayton, is of English locational origin from a place called "Swaton", a parish and village near Sleaford in Lincolnshire. The placename, recorded as "Suavintone" and "Svaventone" in the Domesday Book of 1086, is composed of the Old Scandinavian personal name "Swafa", with the Olde English pre 7th Century word "tun", enclosure, village, hence "Swafa's village". Locational names were originally given as a means of identification to those who left their village or place of origin to settle elsewhere. The Lincolnshire Church Registers record the following entries of the name: Mychaell, son of William Swaytone, was christened on August 21st 1563 at Scotton; and Katherine Swayton married William Morton on April 24th 1572 at Horncastle. The earliest appearance of the name in London Church Registers is on May 21st 1609, when Margaret Swayton married Thomas Begmond at All Hallows, London Wall. In Cambridgeshire, the christening of Faith, daughter of Thomas Swatton, was recorded at St. Peter's, Wisbech, on October 10th 1636. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Margery Swaton, which was dated June 2nd 1563, christened at Horncastles, Lincolnshire, during the reign of Queen Elizabeth 1, known as "Good Queen Bess", 1558 - 1603. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.