Singleton

Etymology

Singleton is an English locational surname taken from one or more places named Singleton, especially in Lancashire and Sussex. The place-name is usually explained from Old English elements meaning “single” or “one” plus tūn, “farmstead, settlement, enclosure,” giving the sense of a lone or isolated settlement. Some older writers also suggested a personal-name element in the first part, but the place-name explanation is the standard one.

History

The surname appears early in England and was already established by the medieval period. Historical surname writers note important early families in Lancashire, and the name later spread more widely within England and then overseas. In the United States it became especially familiar through bearers such as the artist John Singleton Copley, whose middle name was a family surname.

Origin

Regions

Variant spellings

Fun fact

One famous bearer was John Singleton Copley, the colonial American portrait painter who later became a leading artist in Britain.

Related surnames