Meaning of Last Name

Meaning: "noble stone", "elf stone", "old stone", "shrine stone", "temple stone"

Origins: Old English

Alston is an English language surname of Anglo-Saxon origin with several derivations. It may have evolved from the Middle English given name "Alstan", the prefix, Al- itself derived from different Old English words ("noble", "elf", "old", "shrine", "temple"), and the suffix -stan ("stone") derived from pre 7th century Old English. The oldest public record of this derivation is found in 1279 in Cambridgeshire. Alston also evolved as a locational surname from villages named Alston (or Alstone) in Devonshire, Gloucestershire, Lancashire, Somerset, and Staffordshire. The oldest public records of the locational surname in these villages are from the period of 1221–1246. An alternate meaning is "from the old manor". People with the surname include: