This is a locational name which derives from the Old English pre 7th Century "Isara" meaning "strong river" and "tun" a farm or hamlet. The village of Airton in West Yorkshire is the probable place of origin, although there are several river Aires in the United Kingdom. The village name as "Airtone" is first recorded in the 1086 Domesday Book for Yorkshire, although the surname is much later and has several forms. These include Alice Airton christened on March 11th 1570, at the church of Linton in Craven, Yorkshire, whilst Xpofer Aireton was a witness at the village church of Aldborough in West Yorkshire at the christening of his daughter Agnes on March 3rd 1598. On July 24th 1755, Agnes Aython married Thomas Horner at Arncliffe, also in Yorkshire. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Agneta Aierton, which was dated 1562, christened at Gisburn, North Yorkshire, during the reign of Queen Elizabeth 1, "Good Queen Bess", 1558 - 1603. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.

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