Norton (surname)

Caroline Norton

Charles Eliot Norton

George A. Norton

Origin is from the basic Early English Nor + tun = North settlement (cf Weston, Sutton and Easton for other surnames derived from points of the compass). There are many English villages called Norton or including Norton as part of the name e.g. Midsomer Norton, Chipping Norton, Brize Norton etc. When surnames started to be used in the Middle Ages a man from such a village might have the name added e.g. Tom of Norton. Alternatively a man from the North side of any village might be given the name Tom Norton to distinguish him from a Tom from the south side (Tom Sutton). A secondary source for the surname is from the anglicisation of Celtic (Irish and Scottish gaelic) surnames (e.g. Naughtan). To confuse the situation further it is also sometimes found as a Jewish surname (probably from the anglicisation of the German surname Norden). The famous "Emperor Norton" in San Francisco was of Jewish origin from a South African settler family.

Norton surname in Ireland

In Ireland, the surname could be of both Irish and English origin. The Nortons of Athlone are descended from Feradach O'Neachtain who died in 1790.^[1]

People surnamed Norton

• Daniel Norton (born 1989), Legend
• Andre Norton (1912–2005), American science-fiction author
• Andrew Norton (born 1965), Australian writer
• Andrews Norton (1786–1853), American Unitarian
• Anne Norton (born 1954), American political scientist
• Arthur Philip Norton (1876–1955), founder of Norton's Star Atlas
• Brad Norton (born 1975), American ice hockey player
• Caroline Norton (1808–1877), English feminist, social reformer, and author
• Charles Eliot Norton (1827–1908), American scholar
• Christopher Norton (born 1953), British composer, arranger, educationalist and record producer
• Christopher F. Norton (1821–1880), New York politician
• Daniel Sheldon Norton (1829–1870), American politician
• David L. Norton (1930–1995), American philosopher
• Doreen Norton (1922–2007), English nurse who developed a method for preventing bedsores
• Edward Norton (born 1969), American actor
• Edward Felix Norton (1884–1954), British mountaineer
• Edward Lawry Norton (1898–1983), American electrical engineer
• Eleanor Holmes Norton (born 1937), American politician and delegate from Washington, D.C.
• Elijah Hise Norton (1821–1914), American politician
• Eunice Norton (1908–2005), American pianist
• Fletcher Norton, 1st Baron Grantley (1716–1789), English politician
• Gale Norton (born 1954), American lawyer and politician
• George A. Norton (1880–1923), American popular songwriter, lyricist for "My Melancholy Baby"
• Gerard Ross Norton (1915–2004), South African Army officer
• Gil Norton, British record producer
• Graham Norton (born 1963), Irish comedian (a stage name - real surname Walker)
• Graeme Norton, New Zealand rugby league football coach
• Greg Norton (born 1959), American bassist and restaurateur
• Greg Norton (baseball) (born 1972), American baseball player
• Greg Norton (cricketer), (born 1988), English cricketer
• Sir Gregory Norton, 1st Baronet (1603–1652), English baronet and Member of Parliament
• Hiram Norton (c. 1799 – 1875), merchant and historical figure in Upper Canada
• Homer Norton (1896–1965), American athlete and coach
• James Norton (South Carolina politician) (1843–1920), American politician
• James A. Norton (1843–1912), American politician
• James Lansdowne Norton (1869–1925), English inventor best known for founding the Norton Motorcycle Company
• Jim Norton (disambiguation), several people
• John Norton (disambiguation), several people
• Sir John Norton-Griffiths, 1st Baronet (1871–1930), British army officer
• Joshua A. Norton (c. 1819 – 1880), self-proclaimed Emperor of the United States
• Judy Norton Taylor (born 1958), American actress
• Keith Norton (1941–2010), Canadian politician
• Ken Norton (1943–2013), American heavyweight boxer
• Ken Norton, Jr. (born 1966), American football player, son of the above boxer
• Kerry Norton (born 1973), English actress
• M. Norton, English cricketer
• Margaret Cross Norton (1891–1984), American archivist
• Mary Norton (disambiguation), several people
• Michael Norton (1964–1996), Australian Paralympic skier
• Michael Norton (New York state senator) (1837–1889), New York politician
• Norman Norton (1881–1968), South African cricketer
• Patrick Norton (born 1970), American technology writer
• Peter Norton (born 1943), American software engineer and founder of Peter Norton Computing
• Peter Norton (GC) (born 1962), British Army officer
• Peter Hill-Norton, Baron Hill-Norton (1915–2004), British admiral
• Philip Norton, Baron Norton of Louth (born 1951), British author and academic
• Richard Norton-Taylor (born 1944), British journalist and playwright
• Richard Norton (disambiguation)
• Rosaleen Norton (1917–1979), Australian occultist
• Scott Norton (born 1961), American professional wrestler
• Simon P. Norton (born 1952), English mathematician
• Steve Norton, English rugby league footballer
• Tane Norton (born 1942), New Zealand rugby union player
• Thomas Norton (1532–1584), English writer and politician
• Travis Norton (born 1976), Australian rugby league footballer
• Travis Norton (born 1980), Minneapolis musician; Guitarist/Vocalist in the punk rock band Semi Gods
• William Norton (disambiguation), several people

Fictional characters

• • Ed and Trixie Norton, on the TV series The Honeymooners
• Samuel Norton, warden in the film The Shawshank Redemption
• Mr. Norton, in the 1952 novel Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison

References

This page or section lists people with the surname Norton. If an internal link intending to refer to a specific person led you to this page, you may wish to change that link by adding the person's given name(s) to the link.