An English surname the Bolton name comes from the Old English terms ‘botl’ and ‘bothl’ which refer to a house and the ‘tun’ to a settlement. The spelling variations for Bolton including Boltan, Boulten, Boulton, Boalton and Bolten. In England the original Bolton families established themselves in the Lancashire area. Over the centuries the Bolton families covered all of the country and into parts of Wales. The greater populations with the Bolton name remained in the Lancashire and also Yorkshire area. Across most of Scotland the Bolton name is found. The higher percentage of Bolton families live in Midlothian, Lanarkshire, Renfrewshire, East Lothian, Berwickshire and Dunbartonshire counties. Within the United States the early individuals with the Bolton surname lived in Maine, New York, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Tennessee, New Jersey, Ohio and Georgia. Famous: Cecil Bolton (professional baseball player), John Gatenby Bolton (astronomer), Michael Bolton (singer - his birth name is Michael Bolotin), John Bolton (champion weightlifter from New Zealand), James Bolton (18th century English illustrator), Dave Bolton (English rugby player), Emily June Bolton (movie film and television actress) and Elmer Keiser Bolton (research chemist with DuPont Company to develop neoprene - synthetic rubber and nylon).