Ponton Family Crest, Coat of Arms and Name History

Ponton Origin:

England

Origins of Ponton:

This interesting name has two possible sources, the first of which is English (Anglo-Saxon) and is a geographical surname acquiring from the places in Lincolnshire called Great and Little Ponton. The place-name means ‘Pampi’s apartment,’ from the Old Norse byname ‘Pampi,’ which means ‘short, fat,’ and also used in Old English to mean a small hill or mountain, with ‘tun,’ Old English for a settlement, village. The places listed were in the Domesday Book of 1086 as ‘Magna and Parva Pantone.’ The William de Ponton noted below was from Lincolnshire, and was sent to Ireland by Edward I in 1306 – 1307 to prepare a patrol from Ireland towards Robert the Bruce. The second possible origin for the new surname ‘Ponton’ is the Anglo-Norman French geographical name ‘Pont,’ for a person who resided by an overpass, from ‘pont,’ bridge. ‘Ponton’ is a shortened form of the name.

Variations:

More common variations are: Pointon, Poynton, Poniton, Poneton, Pontoni, Pontone, Pontoan, Pontoon, Ponaton, Pontown.

Italy:

The surname Ponton first appeared in Emilia-Romagna. Although this name appeared independently in different parts of Italy, the first noted example of the name appeared, are of the Ponte di Venezi family, promoted in 1297, who are said to be formerly of Ferrara.

England:

The very first recording spelling of the family was shown to be that of Wilielmus de Ponton of Ayr, dated about 1305-1306, in the “Documents relating to Scotland in the Public Record Office.” It was during the time of Interregnum in Scotland, King Edward 1st of England, who was known to be the “The Hammer of the Scots,” dated 1272-1307. The origin of surnames during this period became a necessity with the introduction of personal taxation. It came to be known as Poll Tax in England. Surnames all over the country began to develop, with unique and shocking spelling variations of the original one.

Ireland:

Many of the people with surname Ponton had moved to Ireland during the 17th century.

United States of America:

Individuals with the surname Ponton settled in the United States in two different centuries respectively in the 18th, and 19th. Some of the people with the name Ponton who settled in the United States in the 18th century included Edward Ponton, who arrived in Virginia in 1706.

The following century saw more Ponton surnames come. Some of the people with the surname Ponton who settled in the United States in the 19th century included G Ponton, who landed in San Francisco, California in 1851. Jose Ponton, who arrived in Puerto Rico in 1879.

Australia:

Some of the people with the surname Ponton who settled in Australia in the 19th century included Thomas Ponton at the age of 17 arrived in South Australia in 1850 aboard the ship “Joseph Soames.”

Here is the population distribution of the last name Ponton: Colombia 3,057; United States 2,489; Ecuador 2,233; Mexico 1,492; France 869; Canada 538; England 527; Spain 512; Venezuela 452; Australia 384.

Notable People:

Andrew Ponton was a traditional 19th-century justice and congressman in Texas.

Mungo Ponton FRS (November 1801–August 1880) was a Scottish architect who in 1839 created a method of constant photography.

Shannan Ponton is a coach on the Australian version of The Biggest Loser. He made his first exhibition during the show’s second season in 2007, where he guided the Blue team alongside Bob Harper. After Bob’s retirement during the second week of training, Shannan started as the official trainer of the blue team, and he remained in his role as the blue team’s trainer during the show’s third season in 2008.

Yvan Ponton was born October in 1945 in Farnham, Quebec. He is a Canadian actor, author, and television entertainer. He has had a long acting profession which involves roles in many major French-Canadian television shows and movies. He is most famous to English-speaking viewers for his role as hockey goalie Denis Lemieux in the 1977 film Slap Shot.

Blazons & Genealogy Notes

1) (Scotland). Az. a lion ramp. and a chief or.
2) Az. a lion ramp. ar. betw. three escallops or.