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"noble stone", "elf stone", "old stone", "shrine stone", "temple stone" Allston, Alstone, Alliston, Elliston, Elystone |
Alston is an English language surname of Anglo-Saxon origin with several derivations. It may have evolved from the Middle English given name "Alstan", the prefix, Al- itself derived from different Old English words ("noble", "elf", "old", "shrine", "temple"), and the suffix -stan ("stone") derived from pre 7th century Old English. The oldest public record of this derivation is found in 1279 in Cambridgeshire. One branch of this name may have been taken from the manor of a Saxon Lord called Alstanus, he had his manor in Stambourne, North East Essex. It is known that he was still in possession of the Manor after the Norman conquest, although as a tenant rather than owner, he held the land annexed against the King. There are a high density of families with the surname Alston and Alliston from around the Sudbury area, not far from Stambourne. In the 1224 feet of fines it is recorded that John son of Adam de Alliston sold land at Stanfeld (Stansfield) Suffolk. Stansfield is a few miles North of Stambourne. Both Stambourne and Stansfield may have taken their name from Æthelstan Half-King, Earl of East Anglia in the 930s.
Alston also evolved as a locational surname from villages named Alston (or Alstone) in Devonshire, Gloucestershire, Lancashire, Somerset, and Staffordshire. The oldest public records of the locational surname in these villages are from the period of 1221–1246. An alternate meaning is "from the old manor". The nearest locational name to Stambourne was Alston village in Suffolk near Trimley St Martin, originally in the Domesday Book it was called Alteinestuna. The original meaning may have been Stone of Fire Farm (tuna). Alteines is a Gallic word meaning "stone of fire" and is associated with sorcery. The church was consolidated to Trimley St Martin in 1362.
The coat of arms containing the stars may have been taken as a variant of the coat of arms of the De Veres (Earls of Oxford) who were one of the most powerful post Norman East Anglian families and associated with early East Anglian Alstons.
People with the name include:
Adrian Alston (born 1949), Australian footballer
Arthur Alston (1872–1954), British Anglican priest, Bishop of Middleton
Arthur Hugh Garfit Alston (1902–1958), English botanist
Ashanti Alston (born 1954), American anarchist activist, speaker, and writer
Sir Beilby Alston (1868–1929), British diplomat
Blair Alston (born 1992), Scottish professional football player
Charles Alston (botanist) (1683–1760), Scottish botanist
Charles Alston (1907–1977), African-American painter, sculptor, illustrator, muralist, and teacher
Dave Alston (1846–1893) American baseball umpire
Dean Alston (born 1950), Australian cartoonist
Dell Alston (born 1952), American former baseball player
Derrick Alston (born 1972), American basketball player
C. Donald Alston, United States Air Force general
Sir Edward Alston (1595–1669), president of the British College of Physicians
Edward Richard Alston (1845–1881), Scottish zoologist
Garvin Alston (born 1971), American retired baseball player
Gerald Alston (born 1951), American R&B singer
"Granny" Alston (1908–1985), English cricketer
Jan Alston (born 1969), Canadian ice hockey player
Jon Alston (born 1983), American football player
Joseph Alston (disambiguation)
Julian Alston, Australian-American economist
Lee J. Alston, American professor of economics
Lemuel J. Alston (1760–1836), United States Congressman
Lyneal Alston (born 1964), former professional American football player
Kevin Alston (born 1988), American soccer player
Kwaku Alston, American photographer
Louise Alston, Australian director and producer
Mack Alston (born 1947), former professional American football player
Mary Motte Alston Pringle, American Civil War diarist, sister-in-law of Theodosia Burr Alston
Michael Alston, Australian disabled fencer
Mike Alston (born 1985), American football player
Nick Alston, British retired civil servant, now a Police and Crime Commissioner
O'Brien Alston (born 1965), American former football player
Ovie Alston (1905–1989), American jazz trumpeter, vocalist, and bandleader
Peter Alston (c.1765-1804), American counterfeiter and river pirate
Philip Alston (counterfeiter), 18th century counterfeiter, frontier military leader
Philip Alston, American law scholar and human rights practitioner
Rafer Alston (born 1976), American basketball player
Rex Alston (1901–1994), British radio sports commentator
Richard Alston (disambiguation)
Robert Augustus Alston (1832-1879), American journalist & legislator, exposed the abuses of the convict leasing system; murdered at the Georgia State Capitol in Atlanta
Robert West Alston (18th-19th centuries), American planter, grandfather of Robert Augustus Alston, relative of U.S. Rep. Willis Alston
Robert Alston (born 1938), British retired diplomat
Royal Alston (c.1888–unknown), American college football coach
Theodosia Burr Alston (1783–1813), daughter of U.S. Vice President Aaron Burr, disappeared at sea
Thomas Alston (disambiguation)
Tiffany Alston (born 1977), American politician
Walter Alston (1911–1984), American baseball player and manager
Wanda Alston (1959–2005), United States feminist activist and government official
William Alston (disambiguation)
Willis Alston (1769–1837), U.S. Congressman from North Carolina
Alston Bobb (born 1984), West Indian cricketer
Alston G. Dayton (1857–1920), American politician
Alston Scott Householder, mathematician
Alston Koch (born 1951), Sri Lankan singer-songwriter and record producer
Alston May (1869–1940), British Anglican priest, Bishop of Northern Rhodesia
Alston Purvis (born 1943), American graphic designer, artist, professor and author
Alston Wise (1904–1984), Canadian ice hockey player
Alston (name) Wikipedia (Text) CC BY-SA