The surname of ATHERTON was a locational name 'of ATHERTON' a chapelry in the parish of Leigh, County Lancashire. The name was originally rendered in the Old English form AEPELHERE. The earliest of the place-name on record appears to be ALDERTON, which was recorded in the year 1212 and ATHERTON was documented in the year 1322. Local names usually denoted where a man held his land, and indicated where he actually lived. Almost every city, town or village extant in the Middle Ages has served to name one or more families. While a man lived in a town or village he would not be known by its name, as that would be no means of identification - all in the village would be so named. But when a man left his birthplace or village where he had been known and went elsewhere, people would likely refer to him by the name of his former residence or by the name of the land which he owned. Some had the name of a manor or village because they were lords of that place and owned it, but the majority descend from vassals of freeman who once had lived there. Early records of the name mention Hugh de ATHERTON, who was recorded in 1332 in County Lancashire and Edward ATHERTON appears in Lancashire in 1379. It was not until the 10th century that modern hereditary surnames first developed, and the use of fixed names spread, first to France, and then England, then to Germany and all of Europe. In these parts of Europe, the individual man was becoming more important, commerce was increasing and the exact identification of each man was becoming a necessity. Even today however, the Church does not recognise surnames. Baptisms and marriages are performed through use of the Christian name alone. Thus hereditary names as we know them today developed gradually during the 11th to the 15th century in the various European countries. Later instances of the name mention that 'On October 4th, 1679, William ATHERTON left in the ship Nathaniel for Boston'; Peter Shepherd married Christian ATHERTON in London in the year of 1662. In the Middle Ages heraldry came into use as a practical matter. It originated in the devices used to distinguish the armoured warriors in tournament and war, and was also placed on seals as marks of identity. As far as records show, true heraldry began in the middle of the 12th century, and appeared almost simultaneously in several countries of Western Europe.