Recorded as Chalerton, Challerton and Cholerton, this is an English locational surname. It originates from the village of Chollerton near the town of Hexham, in the county of Northumberland. The meaning of the name is much the same as for the nearby Chollerford, which is the ford in the narrow gorge, or in the case of Chollerton, the village near the narrow gorge. This is from the pre 7th century Olde English word 'ceole' meaning a narrow valley. The place is first recorded in 1175 as Choluerton. It does not appear in the famous Domesday Book of 1086, for the simple reason that although it is known to have existed at that time, the writ of William the Conqueror did not extend this far north. It was in an area then controlled by the Danish-Vikings. In anycase when William did achieve supremacy he destroyed the whole area to show that opposition to him did not pay! The surname being locational is a 'from' name. That is to say a name which was generally given to people after they left their original villages to move somewhere else. Spelling over the centuries being at best indifferent, and local accents very thick, often lead to the developement of 'sounds like' surnames. In this case early examples of recordings include William Challerton who married Elzabeth Penny at St Benets, Pauls Wharf, in the city of London, on February 23rd 1628, John Chalerton at Haltwhistel in Northumberland, on October 22nd 1765, and Georeg Cholerton, a christening witness at St James Paddington in the city of London, on August 11th 1822.

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