This interesting surname of English origin is a dialectal variant of the locational name Statham in Cheshire, deriving from the dative plural "stoethum" of the old English pre 7th Century "stoeth" meaning "landing stage" i.e., "at the landing stage". The surname dates back to the late 13th Century, (see below). Further recordings include Richard de Stathum (1413), "Descriptive Catalogue of Derbyshire Charters", and Henry Stathum (1450), "Calendar of Inquisitiones Post Mortem, Nottinghamshire". Richard Staten married Alis Witsett on August 11th 1564 at St. Luke's Chelsea. Anne, daughter of Jespar Staten was christened on November 15th 1640 at St. Mary Magdalene, Old Fish Street, London, and William Staten married Mary Piceard on June 6th 1677 at Allhallows, London Wall. One Patrick Staton aged 26 yrs., a famine emigrant, sailed from Liverpool aboard the "Liverpool" bound for New York on June 18th 1846. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of John de Statham, which was dated 1273, "The Hundred Rolls of Cambridgeshire", during the reign of King Edward 1st, "The Hammer of the Scots", 1272 - 1307. 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.