Ashtyn

Ashtyn is an Americanized respelling of Ashton, which itself is the transferred use of a surname originating in England as a place name. Ashton comes from the Old English “æsc” (ash tree) and “tūn” (settlement, enclosure), and would have been a surname used to identify folks hailing from settlements known for their ash trees. While mainly a surname, Ashton has occurred as a forename for at least three hundred years. In Norse mythology, the first man created by the gods was formed from an ash tree. The Celts, impressed with its massive size, associated the ash tree with power, expansion and scale. Its girth, height, and deeply complex root system were all metaphors for the spiritually minded Celtic people. In both Norse/Viking and Celtic folklore, the ash tree was mainly a symbol of protectiveness. Like a gentle giant, the ash tree was also a guardian of children and a healing agent for childhood illnesses. The surname developed in the Middle Ages and appears as “Estun” in the Domesday Book of 1086. American parents who were drawn to this masculine name for their baby girls altered the spelling to Ashtyn in an attempt to feminize it up a bit.