The name Stoughton is derived from the Anglo-Saxon word “stoctun” which means a large fenced dwelling. This family adopted the name because they owned the manor of Stoughton in Surrey. The original form of the name was “de Stoctun, ” and it was also spelled Stochton, Staughton, Stogton, Stawton, Stocketon, Stocktun and Stotun, before being standardized at the present spelling about the reign of Henry VIII.
According to a pedigree of the Stoughton family prepared by Sir Nicholas Stoughton, Bt. in the 17th century, the family is descended from Godwin of Stoctun who lived at Stoughton, Surrey in the reign of William the Conqueror and who was listed in the Domesday Book (1085) as the owner of the manor of Stoke. This type of claim was common at the time the pedigree was prepared, but is highly unlikely since Stoke was owned by King Henry II, who afforested it, along with the neighboring manors of Guildford and Woking, and by his son King John, who divided it, granting Stoke to the Bishop of London and Stoughton to the Stoughton family. At the time of the Domesday Survey Stoughton was a part of the Manor of Stoke and consisted of 2,266 acres in Stoke Parish, with two mills and an income of 25 shillings per year. It consists now of that part of Stoke Parish north of the River Wey between the manors of Guildford and Woking.
The Stoughton coat of arms is given in Crozier’s General Armory as Azure, a cross engrailed ermine and for crest a robin redbreast proper, and motto Hoc signum non onus sed honor (This banner no burden, but an honor) with the note that this was the coat of arms of Thomas and Israel Stoughton, Dorchester, 1630, descended from Godwin of Stocton, Surrey, 1135 (1). The same shield is shown in the monumental brasses of the Stoughton family in the chapel at Stoke-by-Guildford.
Shared to Geni.com, Dec. 9, 2010.