Fullerton
A Scottish and English surname originally meaning someone from a place where cloth was fulled or dressed.
The #4,162 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 36,251 Americans shares it.
Etymology
This surname is generally taken as a habitational name, formed from a place-name meaning “the town where cloth is dressed” or “the fulling town.” The root is the same as English full, in the old sense of thickening or finishing cloth by beating and cleansing it. In older surname works, Fullerton is explicitly explained as a local name tied to cloth-working.
History
The name is especially associated with Scotland and northern England, though it also appears in English records. Historical sources note the surname among Scottish families and later bearers in various parts of the British Isles and North America. A related place-name tradition also exists for Fullarton, which has often been treated alongside Fullerton in surname lists.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Older surname dictionaries grouped Fullerton with other place-based names ending in -ton, but interpreted its first element through the textile trade rather than through a personal name.
From the historical record
“FULKINS. The son of Fulke. FULLER. One who fulls cloth; a clothier. FULLERTON. Local. The town where cloth is dressed. FULSOM. Local. From Foulsham, a town in England, where, perhaps, were raised plenty of fowl, or the streets foul, or the population full and crowded. Saxon, Futten, foul. FURBUSHER. The same as…”
— An Etymological Dictionary of Family and Christian Names