The son of Henry Stenton of Southwell, Nottinghamshire,[2] he was educated at Keble College, Oxford, and was elected an Honorary Fellow in 1947.

[4] In the view of Nicholas Higham writing in 1992 it "remains the most complete study of Anglo-Saxon history that has ever appeared.

He was himself a historian of the first rank, an eminent place-name scholar and in addition well versed in archaeological literature.

[7] He was knighted in the 1948 New Year Honours,[8] and received the accolade from King George VI at Buckingham Palace on 10 February 1948.

[9] His wife, Doris Mary Stenton, wrote a preface to the third edition of Anglo-Saxon England, published after his death, and edited Preparatory to Anglo-Saxon England: Being the Collected Papers of Frank Merry Stenton, published in 1970.