Loughton

Recorded as Lochton, Loghton, Logten, Logton, Lugton, and possibly others, this is an English surname. it is locational from the three places called Loughton, in the counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex, and Shropshire. The places in Buckinghamshire & Shropshire, recorded as "Lochintune" in the Domesday ook of 1086 and as "Luchton" in the records contained in Eyton's "History of Shropshire", respectively, share the same meaning and derivation. This is "Luhha's settlement", from the pre 7th century personal name "Luhha", with "tun", a settlement. The Loughton in Essex is recorded in 1062 as "Lukintone", in the famous Domesday Book of 1086, and means "Luca's settlement". Locational surnames were acquired by the lord of the manor and local landowners, or by those who had moved to another area, usually in search of work, and took the name of their birthplace as a means of identification. Examples of the name from various church registers include: the christening of Anne Loughton, at Chesham, Buckinghamshire, on January 16th 1550, and the christening of Mary Lugton at St Sepulchre church in the city of London, on April 30th 1711. This latter recording was during the reign of Queen Anne, 1702 - 1714, the last Stuart monarch. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.