s de Bolton.
Popularity & Geographic Distribution
The last name Bolton ranks 994th popularity in the United Status as of the 2000 Census. The name ranks particularly high in the following four states: Mississippi (361st), Tennessee (474th), Georgia (477th), and Alabama (569th).
The surname Bolton frequency/commonness ranks as follows in the British Isles: England (355th), Scotland (879th), Wales (428th), Ireland (872nd) and Northern Ireland (807th). In England, it ranks highest in Lancashire and East Riding of Yorkshire. In Scotland, the surname ranks highest in Scottish Borders. In Ireland, it ranks highest in Leinster. In Wales, it ranks highest in Denbighshire.
The name is also present throughout the remainder English speaking world: Canada (1,083rd), New Zealand (), Australia (589th), and South Africa (3,124th).
In his 1890 book, Homes of Family Names in Great Britain, Henry Brougham Guppy, states the following in regard to this last name: “The Lancashire Boltons derive their name from parishes of the name in the county”.
Bolton Family Tree & Bolton Genealogy
Bolton of Bective Abbey
The genealogy of this branch of the Bolton family tree begins with John Bolton, of Great Fenton, county Stafford, England, the son of Sir Edward Bolton, Knight of Lancashire, and Margaret Ash. He was born c. 1525 AD. John had a son named Richard. This son, Sir Richard Bolton, Knight, settled in Ireland during the late sixteenth century. He was Recorder of Dublin in 1607 and Solicitor General in 1618. He was appointed Chief Baron of the Exchequer, received the honor of knighthood, and was made a Member of the Privy Council. In 1635, King Charles I granted him the lands of Tullydonnell in county Leath, Ireland. In 1639, he became Lord Chancellor of Ireland, and received a grant of land in the parish of Bective, county Meath. Richard married Frances, daughter of Richard Walter of Stafford, with whom he had eight issue as follows: 1) Sir Edward (heir), 2) Thomas (ancestor of Bolton of Tullydonnell, discussed in the next section), 3) John (married Bridget, daughter of Hugh Shakerley of Somerford, had a son named Edward and a daughter named Bridget), 4) James, 5) Carroll (had a John, Mary, Anne, Dorothy, and Hill), 6) Benjamin, 7) Anne (married Colonel Arthur Hill, Member of Parliament, had three sons named Moyses, Edward, and Francis), and 8) Mary (married Patrick Nangle, Baron of Navan, and secondly, Edward Bermingham). Richard died in 1648. He bequeathed the lands of Tullydonnell to his second son. His heir was his second son, Sir Edward Bolton of Brazell, county Dublin. Sir Edward was Solicitor General in 1622, Chief Baron of the Exchequer in 1640, and Protector in 1651. He married Elizabeth, daughter of Serjeant Ayloffe, and had two issue: Nicholas (his heir) and Edward (of Clounesk, Queen’s County). He was succeeded by his son, Nicholas Bolton, Esquire of Brazeel. In 1649, Nicholas married Anne, daughter of Nicholas Loftus of Fethard, and had issue as follows: Edward (of Brazeel, died without posterity in 1705), Richard (successor to his brother), Isabella (married Sir Mark Rainsford), Frances (married John Madden of Dublin and Manor Waterhouse), and Margaret (married Theophilus Jones of Bealanmore and secondly John Edkins of Roper’s Rest). Nicholas died in 1692. His second son, Richard Bolton, was an Esquire of Brazeel. He married Anne Catherine, daughter of Stein Bill of Copenhagen, and died in 1721, whereupon he was succeeded by his eldest son, Edward. Edward Bolton, Esquire of Brazeel, was a Member of Parliament for Swords, born in 1695. He married Letitia, daughter of Robert Viscount Molesworth, and had issue with her as follows: Letita (married Reverend Gustavus Hamilton), Anna Maria (married Captain Archibald Grant), two other unnamed daughters, Robert (his heir), Theophilus, Richard, and Edward. The eldest son, Robert Bolton, Esquire of Brazeel, in 1754, married Elizabeth, daughter of John Blennerhasset of county Kerry, and had two sons with her: Edward and Robert Compton (married Elizabeth, daughter of Jas. Massy-Dawson of Ballyn