Where did my name "Stanton" derive from?

Question

I looked on the net and I think I am British/Scottish. My other last name (Dad) is Smith. Where can I find out without having to pay fr it? Your answers would be nice also.

i would really like to learn about my family history... unlike most people these days.

Answer 1

Stanton, Staunton:

Early examples:
Godewin {ae}t Stantune, 1055
Walter de Stanton, 1199
John de Staunton, 1290
John Stanton, 1395
Robert Staunton, 1445

From on of the many places in England called Stanton or Staunton, all meaning "enclosure on stony ground".

Answer 2

Smith is simply enough a blacksmith's surname.

Stanton is a little more complicated:

stanton
English: habitational name from any of the extremely numerous places throughout England so called from Old English stan ‘stone’ + tun ‘enclosure’, ‘settlement’. Most of them are named for their situation on stony ground, but in the case of Stanton Harcourt in Oxfordshire and Stanton Drew in Avon the reference is to the proximity of prehistoric stone monuments. The name has also sometimes been chosen by Ashkenazic Jews as an Americanized form of various like-sounding Jewish surnames. This surname has long been established in Ireland also.


You can look them up for yourself here:
http://www.ancestry.com/learn/facts/fact.aspx?&fid=10&ln=stanton&fn=

Answer 3

Stanton is an English name