William Easton

(male) Probably the most successful of all the Old French names of Germanic origin that were introduced to England by the Normans. It is derived from Germanic wil ‘will, desire’ + helm ‘helmet, protection’. The fact that it was borne by the Conqueror himself does not seem to have inhibited its favour with the ‘conquered’ population: in the first century after the Conquest it was the commonest male name of all, and not only among the Normans. In the later Middle Ages it was overtaken by John, but continued to run second to that name until the 20th century, when the picture became more fragmented.

Scottish and English: habitational name from any of the numerous places so called. Most are from Old English ēast ‘east’ + tūn ‘enclosure’, ‘settlement’; examples in Devon and the Isle of Wight get their names from the Old English phrase beēastan tūne ‘(place) to the east of the settlement’. Another in Devon gets its first element from the genitive case of the Old English personal name Ælfrīc (composed of the elements ælf ‘elf’ + rīc ‘power’) or Aðelrīc (composed of the elements aðel ‘noble’ + rīc ‘power’). One in Essex is from Old English ēg ‘island’+ stān(as) ‘stone(s)’. Finally Easton Neston in Northamptonshire gets its name from Old English Ēadstānestūn ‘settlement of Ēadstān’, a personal name composed of the elements ēad ‘prosperity’, ‘riches’ + stān ‘stone’.