This very unusual surname, though English in appearance, is of French origin, and is habitational from places in Isere and Haute-Savoie called Anthon, with the fused preposition "de", meaning "of". The placenames are believed to be derived from an unrecorded ancient Gaulish personal name of uncertain etymology, rather than from a ersion of the Roman personal name "Anthony". The surname was most likely introduced into England by followers of William the Conqueror after the Norman Conquest of 1066. Danton may have been reintroduced by French Huguenots fleeing religious persecution on the Continent; this intensified after the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes by Louis X1V in 1685. However, there are no recordings from known Huguenot churches in London, so that this may not be the case. The surname was first recorded in the mid 16th Century (see below), and other recordings from English Church Registers include the marriage of Richard Danton and Margaret Dyghton on February 5th 1562, at Royston, Yorkshire, and the earliest recording of the surname in France is that of Catherine Danton, who married Dominicque Chevrier on January 25th 1650, at Haudonville, Meurthe-Et-Moselle. Probably the most famous nameholder was Georges Danton, one of the early leaders of the French Revolution. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Catheren Danton, which was dated October 24th 1540, marriage to Ralfe (no surname given), at North Burton, Yorkshire, during the reign of King Henry V111, known as "Good King Hal", 1509 - 1547. 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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