This surname, which is associated with the famous porcelain, is English. It is locational from the village of Minton, near the town of Church Stretton, in the county of Shropshire. The placename, and hence the later surname, is said to derive from the Welsh word 'mynedd' meaning a mountain, and the Olde English and Anglo-Saxon word 'tun', originally meaning a hamlet or settlement. An alternative explanation of the meaning is that the derivation is from the pre 7th century Welsh 'mynech-tun, and meaning the monk's farm. This would probably be a reference to a nearby abbey, although it could be a nickname for a reclusive farmer! Locational surnames were usually 'from' names. That is to say names which were given to people after they left their original homes and moved elsewhere. This could be a hundred miles away, or it could be the next village or town, but in either case the easiest way to identify a stranger was to call him or sometimes her, by the name of their former homestead. In this case the first recording is in the county of Northumberland, although generally early recordings are from the Shropshire region. These recordings include: Jordan de Minton, in the Pipe Rolls of Northumberland in the year 1169, Peter de Mineton in the Hundred Rolls of Shropshire in 1272, and later Samuel Minton in London in 1744. Herbert Minton (1793-1858) was the manufacturer of the Minton porcelain. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop," often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.