Hinton Family Crest, Coat of Arms and Name History

Surname Name Meaning, Origin, and Etymology
This is a locational surname meaning “of Hinton”, parishes in the dioceses of Salisbury, Oxford, Winchester, Bath, Wells, and several other counties. There is also a small village named Piddlehinton in Dorset, which was named after the Piddle River. The name means “the old town”, deriving from the Welsh word hen, meaning old. Another source claims it comes from the Old English word hean or heah, meaning high, and hence referred to an elevated city. Another etymology is that the name derives from the Old English word hiwan, meaning household or monastery.

In his 1890 book Homes of Family Names, H.B. writes: “Hinton is the name of a town and of hamlets in the county [Shropshire]. Thomas Hinton was a bailiff of Ludlow in 1708”. One source claims the family held land and titles in Cumberland where they were first found.

Spelling Variations
Common spelling variants include Hynton, Hindon, Hintone, and Hintan.

Early Bearers of the Surname
The Hundred Rolls of 1273 AD, a census of Wales and England, known in Latin as Rotuli Hundredorum, documents two people bearing this surname: John de Hinton in county Cambridge and Roger de Hinton in county Dorset. Three people with this last name were recorded in the Testa de Veville (authored in the era of King’s Henry III to Edward I): Thomas de Hynton in county Oxfordshire, Lucia de Hinton in county Berkshire, and Matilda de Hinton in county Middlesex. A man named Griphet Hyntonne was buried in 1544 at St. Peter upon Cornhill in London.

History, Genealogy, and Ancestry
The pedigree or lineage of the name is as follows. The first recorded person with this surname was Ulbert de Hynton, who was born in Hynton-Brackley, in Northamptonshire England. The line then goes as follows, starting with his son: Eurald de Hynton (b. 1020), Rauld de Hynton (b. 1068), Edward de Hynton (1088-1150), Sir Elias de Hynton (lived 1165 AD), Robert de Hynton ( lived 1180 AD), and Richard de Hynton (lived 1195 AD). Richard married a woman named Acelina, and together they had a son named Hugh de Hynton. Hugh married Matilda de Foliot and they had a son named Richard. Richard had a son named Hugh. Hugh married a woman named Maud and together they had a son named John de Hynton or Hinton. John married a woman named Agnes and had a son named John. John married a woman named Petronilla Massingam and together they had a son named John. John married Margaret de Coteford and together they had a son named Geoffery. Geoffery has a son named Henry. Henry had a son named Philip. Philip had a son named Thomas. Thomas had a son named Thomas. Thomas had a son named John. John had a son named John. John had a son named Thomas born around 1400 AD. This Thomas had a son named Richard Hynton who was born in 1440 in Kingston Lisle, England. Richard married Margaret Dickson and they had a son named John Hynton prior to his death in 1520. The  son John was born in 1488 and married a woman named Joan Fraucklyn and they had a son named Thomas. Thomas was born in 1510 in Stainwick, England. He married Anne Goddard and they had a son named Anthony. Anthony was born in 1532 in Earlscole, England. He married Martha Warnford and they had a son named Thomas Hinton. Thomas was born in 1574 in Parham, England. He married Catherine Palmer in 1595 and had four issue with her: Anthony, Thomas Jr., John, and Sarah. Thomas Jr. was born in 1600 in Chilton, England. He died in 1683 in Cecil County, Maryland, but left a son named William Hinton. William was born in 1650 in Virginia or Maryland. He had a son named Thomas. Thomas was born in 1693 in Anne Arundel, Maryland. He married Rachel Howard in 1718 and left six children with her: Thomas, Pihil, William Robert, Samuel, John, and Vachel. His son Thomas Hinton was born in 1718 in Maryland. He married a woman named Rebecca and had Thomas Hinton III, who was born in 1736 in Maryland. He married a woman named Deborah in 1765 and had numerous issue with her: Martha, William, James, Thomas W., Levi, Philip, Sarah, Rebecca, Seburn, and Elias. William Hinton was born in 1769 in Rocksbury, Ohio. He married Cassander Layton and had a daughter with her prior to his 1848 death. The daughter, Deborah Hinton, was born in 1805 in Kentucky, married Daniel Darst, and had two children: William Henry Darst and Samuel P. Darst.

Early American and New World Settlers
The book “Genealogical Guide to the Early Settlers of America” mentions one person bearing this name: Benjamin Hinton of Springfield, recorded in 1678. Thomas Hinton, son of Sir John Hinton (who was Physician to King Charles I and II of England), was born at Leydon, Holland in 1640. In 1665, he came to Baltimore, Maryland. He bore a coat of arms blazoned as follows: Per fesse indented sable and or, six fleur-de-lis counterchanged, with crest that was an eagle’s leg erased encircled by a serpent proper. John Hinton and Ellias Hinton were recorded as living in Virginia in 1623.  William Hynton came to Virginia from the port of London in 1635 aboard the Speedwell. Other early settlers include John Hinton (Jamestown, VA 1624), Samuel Hinton (Virginia 1706), William Hinton (Philadelphia 1717), and James Hinton (Maryland 1774).

Mottoes
The Hinton family motto is Assurgam, meaning “We rise up” or “I will rise above”. This is the infinitve form of the word assurgere, which means “to achieve honor [above others]”.

Notables
Famous people with this last name include: 1) Gerry Earl Hinton (1930-2000) who was a pioneer in the field of chiropractic and a State Senator from Louisiana, 2)  James Hinton (1822-1875) who was an English author and surgeon (and father of the mathematician Charles Howard Hinton), and 3) Joseph Hinton (1862-1941) who was a British organist and composer.

Blazons & Genealogy Notes

1) (Hinton). Per fesse indented sa. and ar. six fleurs-de-lis counterchanged.
2) (South Denchworth and Kingston-Lisle, co. Berks, and co. Salop). Same Arms. Crest—An eagle’s leg erased, encircled by a serpent ppr.
3) (co. Cumberland). Per fesse indented sa. and or, six fleurs-de-lis counterchanged ar. and sa.
4) (co. Derby, and Deverel-Langbridge, co. Dorset). Vert a bend or.
5) (co. Essex). Vert a bend ar.
6) (co. Salop). Ar. on a bend sa. three martlets of the field. Crest—The paschal lamb ar. glory or, carrying a banner of the first, charged with a cross gu.
7) (Ringwardine, co. Salop). Same Arms as Hinton, of co. Salop, with a crescent in chief.
8) (Rushton, co. Chester). Az. on a bend sa. betw. two poppies gu. stalked vert, three martlets ar.
9) (quartered by Stanley, of Dalgarth and Awsthwaite. Visit. Cumberland, 1615). Per fess indented or and sa. a fleur-de-lis counterchanged.
10) Erm. on a chev. sa. five martlets ar.
11) Gu. on a bend ar. cotised or, three martlets sa.
12) Per fesse indented sa. and or, on a chief ar. two fleurs-de-lis of the first.
13) Per fesse indented sa. and or, in chief three fleurs-de-lis ar.
14) (co. Salop; Anne, dau. and co-heir of Griffith Hinton, of that place, m. Thomas Cludde, of Orleton, in same co., 30 Henry VIII., 1538. Visit. Notts, 1614). Ar. in chief two estoiles, and in base three arrows, two in saltire and one in pale ppr. flighted of the field, barbed az. banded gu.
15) (Halstone, co. Wexford; confirmed to Thomas Hinton, Esq., of that place). Motto—Assurgam. Ar. on a bend az. cotised gu. betw. six trefoils slipped vert three doves close of the first. Crest—A mount vert, thereon an eagle’s leg erased, the claw pressing down the neck of a serpent entwined around the limb all ppr.