[1] One origin is from Anglo-Saxon where it is derived from sudh, suth,[2] or suð,[3] and tun referring to the generic placename "southern farm".
[4] Note that almost every county in England contains one or more placenames bearing the prefix "Sutton".
[5] The Domesday Book (1086) contains the first recorded spelling of the surname as "Ketel de Sudtone"; "Suttuna" also appeared in 1086 in records from Ely, Cambridgeshire.
[2] In 1379 tax records, the surname appears as "de Sutton" ("of Southtown").
[2] One source refers to the origin as being Anglo-Norman, with the name itself derived as described above, from Anglo-Saxon terms.