Alston (name)
Encyclopedia
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
. Alston also evolved as a locational surname from villages named Alston (or Alstone) in Devon
shire, 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". People with the surname include:
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
surname
Surname
A surname is a name added to a given name and is part of a personal name. In many cases, a surname is a family name. Many dictionaries define "surname" as a synonym of "family name"...
of Anglo-Saxon
Anglo-Saxon
Anglo-Saxon may refer to:* Anglo-Saxons, a group that invaded Britain** Old English, their language** Anglo-Saxon England, their history, one of various ships* White Anglo-Saxon Protestant, an ethnicity* Anglo-Saxon economy, modern macroeconomic term...
origin with several derivations. It may have evolved from the Middle English
Middle English
Middle English is the stage in the history of the English language during the High and Late Middle Ages, or roughly during the four centuries between the late 11th and the late 15th century....
given name
Given name
A given name, in Western contexts often referred to as a first name, is a personal name that specifies and differentiates between members of a group of individuals, especially in a family, all of whose members usually share the same family name...
"Alstan", the prefix, Al- itself derived from different Old English
Old English language
Old English or Anglo-Saxon is an early form of the English language that was spoken and written by the Anglo-Saxons and their descendants in parts of what are now England and southeastern Scotland between at least the mid-5th century and the mid-12th century...
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
Cambridgeshire
Cambridgeshire is a county in England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the northeast, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire to the west...
. Alston also evolved as a locational surname from villages named Alston (or Alstone) in Devon
Devon
Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...
shire, Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn, and the entire Forest of Dean....
, Lancashire
Lancashire
Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...
, Somerset
Somerset
The ceremonial and non-metropolitan county of Somerset in South West England borders Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west. It is partly bounded to the north and west by the Bristol Channel and the estuary of the...
, and Staffordshire
Staffordshire
Staffordshire is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. Part of the National Forest lies within its borders...
. 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". People with the surname include:
Surname
- Adrian AlstonAdrian AlstonAdrian Alston is an English-born Australian former professional football player. His brother Alex was also a professional footballer.-Career:...
, Australian footballer - Arthur Hugh Garfit AlstonArthur Hugh Garfit AlstonArthur Hugh Garfit Alston was an English botanist. His father was a vicar and amateur naturalist who first got him interested in the field. A.H.G. Alston later received his B.A. from the University of Oxford...
, botanist - Ashanti AlstonAshanti AlstonAshanti Alston Omowali is an anarchist activist, speaker, and writer, and former member of the Black Panther Party. Even though the party no longer exists, Alston sometimes refers to himself as a Black Panther, and sometimes as "the @narchist Panther", a term he coined in his @narchist Panther Zine...
, former Black Panther - Charles AlstonCharles AlstonCharles Henry Alston was an African-American painter, sculptor, illustrator, muralist and teacher who lived and worked in the New York City neighborhood of Harlem. Alston was active in the Harlem Renaissance; Alston was the first African American supervisor for the Works Progress Administration's...
, artist - Dave AlstonDave AlstonDavid Gordon Alton was a professional baseball umpire. Alston umpired four National Assoiation games during his career; one game each in and , and two in . He died in his hometown of Chicago, Illinois and is interred at Rosehill Cemetery.-External links:...
, Major League Baseball umpire - Dean AlstonDean AlstonDean John Douglas Alston is an Australian cartoonist who joined The West Australian newspaper in 1986.Dean Alston was born in South Perth, Western Australia in 1950, and grew up in Mount Pleasant. In 1967 he started a cadetship in cartography with Western Australia's Lands and Surveys Department....
, Australian cartoonist - Edward AlstonEdward AlstonSir Edward Alston , was the president of the College of Physicians.Alston was born in Suffolk, and was educated at St. John's College, Cambridge. He graduated B.A. 1615, M.D. 1626. In 1631 he was elected a fellow of the College of Physicians, and was president from 1655 until 1666. At the...
- Kevin AlstonKevin AlstonKevin Alston is an American soccer player who currently plays for New England Revolution in Major League Soccer.-Club career:...
, Major League Soccer Player - Philip AlstonPhilip Alston (counterfeiter)Philip Alston was an 18th century counterfeiter both before and after the American Revolution in Virginia and the Carolinas before the war, and later in Kentucky and Illinois afterwards...
, 18th Century counterfeiter, frontier military leader - Rafer AlstonRafer AlstonRafer Jamel Alston is an American former professional basketball player who last played with Zhejiang Guangsha of the Chinese Basketball Association. He previously played for six NBA teams...
, basketball player - Richard Alston (choreographer)Richard Alston (choreographer)Richard Alston is a British choreographer. He has been Resident Choreographer and Artistic Director for the Ballet Rambert and is currently Artistic Director at The Place....
- Tom AlstonTom AlstonThomas Edison Alston was a Major League Baseball first baseman who played for the St. Louis Cardinals from 1954 to 1957. A native of Greensboro, North Carolina, he stood 6'5" and weighed 210 lbs....
, Major League Baseball player - Walter AlstonWalter AlstonWalter Emmons Alston , nicknamed "Smokey," was an American baseball player and manager. He was born in Venice, Ohio but grew up in Darrtown. He is a graduate of Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, where he lettered three years in both basketball and baseball and is a member of the University's Hall...
, Hall of fame Major League Baseball player and manager - William AlstonWilliam AlstonWilliam Payne Alston was an American philosopher. He made influential contributions to the philosophy of language, epistemology and Christian philosophy. He earned his Ph.D...
, philosopher - Willis AlstonWillis AlstonWillis Alston was a U.S. Congressman from North Carolina between 1825 and 1831.Born near Littleton, North Carolina in Halifax County, Alston was said to have attended Princeton College, though no records exist of his enrollment, and engaged in agricultural pursuits...
, United States Congressman