Early records reveal that this surname originated in Great Britain, and belongs to the category of the so-called “habitation names”, that is, those which are derived from the names of places. There are many towns in England and Ireland named Bolton, one of the most notable being located in Lancashire. Tracing the etymological roots of this surname back through history, one discovers that it is derived from two Old English words: “bodl”, which means “dwelling, house” and “tun”, meaning “enclosure, settlement”. Thus, a modern translation of “Bolton” might be “a settlement of houses”. The ravages of time are the worst enemies of written documents; while the stone that was used to construct castles, towers and other structures often assured that these precious monuments were to survive to the present day, old scrolls were more often than not lost or even destroyed without leaving a trace. The origins of this surname and its variants definitely go back at least to the thirteenth century, as careful research has revealed the following: In an important document known as the “Hundred Rolls”, dated 1273, mention is made of a man named “Robert de Boulton”, from the county of Y…
Coat of arms: Or, on a chevron gule…