This is an early locational surname of Olde English pre 7th century origins. The surname originates from a place called 'Calton' or possibly 'Cauldon', deriving from the original spelling of 'calu-tun', and meaning 'a calf farm', a place where calves were reared. Villages or hamlets of this name are found in Derbyshire, Staffordshire, Yorkshire, and Warwickshire, and it is probable that there were other sites as well which are now 'lost'. Locational surnames were using given to former inhabitants who moved to another area, and who were then given the name of their former home as identification. The further one moved from the original site, the more likely the development of variant spellings at a time when education and registration, was at best, hit and miss. In this case the known spelling forms include Calton, Caltun, Caulton, Calltone and Calyton, whilst individual recordings taken at random include Ales Calton who married John James at St Mary Aldermary, London, on December 3rd 1582, and Arthur Caulton, christened at St. Andrew Undershaft, London, on May 27th 1593. The coat of arms granted in Derbyshire in the time of King Henry V1 (1422 - 1461) has the blazon of a black field, a saltire engrailed between four gold cross crosslets. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of John de Caltun, which was dated 1273, in the Hundred Rolls of the county of Derby, during the reign of King Edward 1, known as 'The hammer of the Scots', 1272 - 1307. 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.

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