This is a surname of Cornish origins. Recorded in a number of spellings including Trathean, Trathen, Treathen, Traton and Tratton, it is locational from a village or hamlet called Trathen in South-West Cornwall, with the meaning of "The place by the sands" or similar. Cornish locational surnames are highly unusual in that they are not "from" names. That is to say that in most parts of Europe locational surnames were those given to people after they left there original homes to move somewhere else, or they were the name of the local lord of the manor. Neither of these conditions apply in Cornwall, and as a result often the inhabitants of whole villages carried the same name. Over the centuries there has been some change, but even today Cornish surnames are usualy grouped in one particular area, showing that even after hundreds of years of emigration, the instinct of remaining close to the place of origin, is still a strong feature. In this case early examples of the surname recordings taken from surviving church registers of the county include those of: Elizabeth Trehene, who married John Thoms at Phillack, on November 29th 1587, George Trathen, the son of William Trathen, who was christened at Redruth on September 27th 1690, and George Treathen, who married Elizabeth Niklas at Zennor, on October 30th 1756.

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