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SHENTON Family History

Recorded in the spellings of Shenton, Shinton, and probably Shenston and Shenstone, this is an English locational surname. It derives from any one of the various places called Shenton in the counties of Leicester, Hertford, and in medieval times, Cheshire, or from Shenstone in the county of Staffordshire. These places all have Old English pre 7th century origins, the first recording being that of "Scenctum" in the Anglo-Saxon charters for Leicester in the year 710 a.d.. The name meaning is probably the hamlet (ton) by the bright stream (scen), although other interpretations are possible.Locational surnames were granted either in the first place to the local lord of the manor, or more usually they were given to people after they left their original homeland.