This interesting surname of English origin with variant spellings Myton, Mytton, Mitton, Miton, Mitten, etc. is a locational name from Myton in Warwickshire, Mytton in Shropshire, or Mitton in Lancashire, Worcestershire and the West Riding of Yorkshire, deriving from the Old English pre 7th Century "(ge)mythe" meaning "confluence, where two streams meet", plus "tun", "settlement". The surname dates back to the late 13th Century, (see below). Further recordings include one John de Miton (1324), "The Register of the Freemen of the city of York", and Adam de Mytton (1379), "The Poll Tax Records of Yorkshire". London church records include one Johanna, daughter of Thomae Myttonne who was christened at Stratford on Avon, Warwickshire, on December 23rd 1562, Agnes Myton married John Hanson at Halifax, Yorkshire, on May 3rd 1579, and Christopheri Myton witnessed the christening of his daughter on September 20th 1601, in Kilburn, Yorkshire. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of William de Mitton, which was dated circa 1286, The Assize Court Rolls of Staffordshire, during the reign of King Edward 1, "The Hammer of the Scots", 1272 - 1307. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.