Shelton surname meaning

Shelton is an English habitational surname from one of several places called Shelton. The place-name is generally analyzed with Old English scylf, a ledge, shelf, or rocky rise, and tūn, a farmstead or settlement. It could therefore identify a family connected with a settlement on elevated or shelf-like ground. Sheldon and Shilton are nearby spelling or place-name forms, but similar spellings do not prove a shared family history. Place is the appropriate catalog type because the surname points to a named locality. The ledge-plus-settlement explanation is supported by two surname references and is high confidence.