This interesting name is of Anglo-Saxon origin and is a locational surname deriving from the place in North Yorkshire called "Coulton". The placename is recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 as "Coltune" and there is some discussion concerning its meaning. There are three equally feasible derivations for the name; the first being "Cola's settlement", from the Old English pre 7th Century personal name "Cola", with "tun", homestead or settlement; the second, from the Old English "co" charcoal with "tun" as before, meaning settlement where charcoal was burnt, and the third possible derivation, from Old English "colt", ass, young horse and "tun", settlement. Locational surnames were developed when former inhabitants of aplace moved to another area usually to seek work, and were best identified by the name of their birthplace. One William Coulton married Mary Alcock at St. George's Chapel Mayfair, London in 1746. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Pagan de Colton, which was dated 1214, The Yorkshire Pipe Rolls, during the reign of King John, known as "Lackland", 1199 - 1216. 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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