Fenton is both a surname and a male given-name originating, literally-meaning "

fen A fen is a type of peat-accumulating wetland fed by mineral-rich ground or surface water. It is one of the main types of wetlands along with marshes, swamps, and bogs. Bogs and fens, both peat-forming ecosystems, are also known as mires. T ...

marsh A marsh is a wetland that is dominated by herbaceous rather than woody plant species.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p Marshes can often be found a ...

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than city, cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares ...

", is the name of several English places, popular in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

and

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 List of islands of New Zealand, smaller islands. It is the ...

. It is also a name of Irish-Gaelic origin; ''Ó Fionnachta'' (see Finnerty) or ''Ó Fiachna'' 'descendant of Fiachna', an old personal name Anglicized as ''Feighney'' and sometimes mistranslated as 'Hunt' (see Fee). Notable people with the name include:

People with the surname Fenton

Actors and actresses

Lavinia Fenton Lavinia Powlett, Duchess of Bolton (1708 – 24 January 1760), known by her stagename as Lavinia Fenton, was an English actress who was the mistress and later the wife of the 3rd Duke of Bolton. She was probably the daughter of a naval lieutenan ...

(1708-1760) *

Leonard Fenton Leonard Fenton (''né'' Finestein; 29 April 1926 – 29 January 2022) was a British actor, director and painter, best known for his role as Dr. Harold Legg in '' EastEnders''. Early life Fenton was born Leonard FinesteinSimon Fenton Simon Fenton (born 10 June 1976) is an English actor who has appeared in several different television roles. One of his earliest roles was in ''Tom's Midnight Garden'', and he also appeared in the ITV children's series '' T-Bag and the Sunstone ...

Fictional characters

* Fenton, a 'young gentleman' in Shakespeare's ''

The Merry Wives of Windsor ''The Merry Wives of Windsor'' or ''Sir John Falstaff and the Merry Wives of Windsor'' is a comedy by William Shakespeare first published in 1602, though believed to have been written in or before 1597. The Windsor of the play's title is a ref ...

'' * Harry Fenton, character in ''

Peaky Blinders The Peaky Blinders were a street gang based in Birmingham, England, which operated from the 1880s until the 1910s. The group consisted largely of young criminals from lower- to middle-class backgrounds. They engaged in robbery, violence, racket ...

'' * Lord Fenton, character in '' Scarlett'' * Fenton Crackshell, aka GizmoDuck from ''DuckTales'' * Fenton, the Death Sheep from Hell, the subject of the song "Sheep Marketing Ploy" by Tom Smith * Fenton Mewley, character from the animated TV show ''Home Movies'' *

Fenton Hardy Many characters have appeared in the fictional series of books about The Hardy Boys. Character history Original series At the beginning of the original Hardy Boys series, Frank is only 16 years old (as opposed to 18 after the revisions betwee ...

from the ''Hardy Boys'' books * Fenton O'Connell, an alias of Kevin Ryan from ''

Castle A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...

'' * Fenton Meiks, character in ''

Frailty Frailty may refer to: Music * ''Frailty'' (The Banner album), 2008 studio album by the Banner * ''Frailty'' (Jane Remover album), 2021 studio album by Jane Remover * Frailty (band), death-doom metal band, from Riga (Latvia) formed in 2003 Othe ...

'' * Fenton, a minor character that has a feud with Fez in ''

That '70s Show ''That '70s Show'' is an American television Period piece, period teen sitcom that aired on Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox from August 23, 1998, to May 18, 2006. The series focuses on the lives of a group of six teenage friends living in the ficti ...

'' * Daniel Fenton, main character of '' Danny Phantom'' * Harcourt Fenton ("Harry") Mudd, character from '' Star Trek (Original Series)'' episodes "

Mudd's Women "Mudd's Women" is the sixth episode of the first season of the American science fiction television series ''Star Trek''. Written by Stephen Kandel, based on a story by Gene Roddenberry, and directed by Harvey Hart, it first aired on October 13 ...

" and " I, Mudd." In "I, Mudd" his full name was voiced (in derision) by a replica of his long-abandoned wife, Stella, who accused him of assorted 'crimes:' "Harcourt Fenton Mudd – have you been drinking?" He also appeared in the animated episode " Mudd's Passion".

Journalists

Anthony Fenton Anthony Fenton is a Canadian independent print and radio journalist and writer. He has been a regular contributor to '' The Dominion'' and Z Communications, and is currently a doctoral student at York University. Education Fenton earned a BA in p ...

Tom Fenton Thomas Trail Fenton (born 8 April 1930) is a former television correspondent who retired in 2004 after a 34-year career with CBS News. Fenton graduated from Dartmouth College in 1952 with a B.A. in English and was an officer in the United States ...

Musicians

Carl Fenton Carl Fenton was a pseudonym of Walter G. Haenschen, American bandleader, composer, and radio musician. Name origin The Carl Fenton Orchestra (AKA "Carl Fenton’s Orchestra") was a title given to Brunswick Records studio bands through the 1920 ...

George Fenton George Richard Ian Howe (born 19 October 1949), known professionally as George Fenton, is an English composer. Best known for his work writing film scores and music for television, he has received five Academy Award nominations, several Ivor No ...

Julian Fenton Julian Fenton (born Julian John Bramley 21 May 1964 in Marylebone, London) is an English rock drummer, composer and teacher, formerly of 1990s rock bands Kinky Machine and Mansun. Following the split of Kinky Machine in 1995, Fenton briefly ...

* Paul Fenton * Shane Fenton, singer aka

Alvin Stardust Bernard William Jewry (27 September 1942 – 23 October 2014), known professionally as Shane Fenton and later as Alvin Stardust, was an English rock singer and stage actor. Performing first as Shane Fenton in the 1960s, Jewry had a moderately s ...

Politicians

* Bob Fenton (1923–2013), New Zealand politician *

Darien Fenton Darien Elizabeth Fenton (born 25 February 1954) is a New Zealand politician and was a Member of Parliament from until her retirement in 2014. Personal life and early career Fenton's grandfather, Fred Frost, was a Labour MP for New Plymouth ...

(born 1954), New Zealand politician * Donovan Fenton, American politician from New Hampshire * Ivor D. Fenton (1889–1986), American politician from Pennsylvania *

James Fenton James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambiguat ...

(1864–1950), Australian politician * Joseph S. Fenton (1781–1851), American politician from Michigan * Kelly Fenton (born 1966), American politician from Minnesota *

Reuben Fenton Reuben Eaton Fenton (July 4, 1819August 25, 1885) was an American merchant and politician from New York. In the mid-19th Century, he served as a U.S. Representative, a U.S. Senator, and as Governor of New York. Early life Fenton was born ...

(1819–1885), American politician from New York * William M. Fenton (1808–1871), American politician from Michigan

Sportspersons

* Billy Fenton * Darin Fenton, Canadian curler *

Ewan Fenton Alexander Ewan Fenton, more commonly known as Ewan Fenton (17 November 1929 – 3 April 2006) was a Scottish professional footballer. He spent thirteen seasons at Blackpool, with whom he was victorious in the famous FA Cup Final of 1953. Play ...

, Scottish footballer *

Georgia-Mae Fenton Georgia-Mae Fenton (born 2 November 2000) is an elite English artistic gymnast and a member of both the British national gymnastics team and the England Commonwealth Games gymnastics squad. She is the 2018 and 2022 Commonwealth champion on un ...

(born 2000), British artistic gymnast * Geraldine Fenton * Isaac Fenton (1910–1997), English footballer * John Fenton * Lorraine Fenton * Nick Fenton * Paul Fenton, American ice hockey player * Peggy Fenton (1927–2013), American baseball player * Rashad Fenton (born 1997), American football player *

Ron Fenton Ronald Fenton (21 September 1940 – 25 September 2013) was an English football player, coach and manager. He played as an inside forward and made nearly 200 appearances in the Football League. Fenton was born in South Shields, and began his ...

(1940–2013), English footballer and manager *

Ted Fenton TED may refer to: Economics and finance * TED spread between U.S. Treasuries and Eurodollar Education * ''Türk Eğitim Derneği'', the Turkish Education Association ** TED Ankara College Foundation Schools, Turkey ** Transvaal Education Depart ...

Writers

Elijah Fenton Elijah Fenton (20 May 1683 – 16 July 1730) was an English poet, biographer and translator. Life Born in Shelton (now Stoke-on-Trent), and educated at Jesus College, Cambridge, for a time he acted as secretary to the Charles Boyle, 4th Earl of O ...

(1683–1730), an English poet, biographer and translator. *

Geoffrey Fenton Sir Geoffrey Fenton (c. 1539 – 19 October 1608) was an English writer, Privy Councillor, and Principal Secretary of State in Ireland. Early literary years Geoffrey (spelt Jeffrey by Lodge) was born in 1539, the son of Henry Fenton of Sturton- ...

(c. 1539 – 1608), an English writer *

(born 1949), an English poet, journalist and literary critic. He is a former Oxford Professor of Poetry *

(born 1931), Ulster Scots writer and poet.

Other

* Sir

(c. 1539 – 1608), an English writer, Privy Councillor, and Principal Secretary of State in Ireland. *

Carroll Lane Fenton Carroll Lane Fenton (February 12, 1900, Butler County, Iowa – November 16, 1969, New Brunswick, New Jersey) was a geologist, paleontologist, neoichnologist, and historian of science. Fenton was the author and illustrator of numerous books ...

, American geologist, paleontologist, author *

Clyde Fenton Clyde Cornwall Fenton OBE (16 May 1901 – 28 February 1982) was the Northern Territory's first flying doctor. Unlike the other doctors with the Royal Flying Doctor Service of Australia, Fenton was also his own pilot. Fenton was a self-ta ...

, flying doctor *

David Fenton David Fenton (born 1953) is the Chairman and founder of Fenton Communications, created in 1982 to promote issue-oriented public relations campaigns focusing on the environment, public health and human rights. Since founding the company, he pioneere ...

, founder of Fenton Communications * Edward Fenton (died 1603), navigator * Frank Fenton (disambiguation) * H. J. H. Fenton, chemical engineer *

John Charles Fenton Sir John Charles Fenton (5 May 1880 – 3 January 1951) was a Scottish lawyer. Biography Fenton was born 5 May 1880, the son of Elizabeth Jack and James Fenton of Edinburgh. He was educated at George Watson's College, at the University of ...

, lawyer *

Joseph Fenton Joseph "Joe" Fenton (c. 1953 – 26 February 1989) was an estate agent from Belfast, Northern Ireland, killed by the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) for acting as an informer for RUC Special Branch. Activity as an informer In the early ...

, informer killed by the Provisional Irish Republican Army *

Joseph Clifford Fenton Joseph Clifford Fenton (January 16, 1906 - July 7, 1969) was a priest of the diocese of Springfield, Massachusetts. He was a professor of fundamental dogmatic theology at the Catholic University of America and editor of the '' American Ecclesiasti ...

, editor of ''American Ecclesiastical Review'' (1944–66) *

Mildred Adams Fenton Mildred Adams Fenton (November 14, 1899 – December 7, 1995) trained in paleontology and geology at the University of Iowa. She coauthored dozens of general science books with her husband, Carroll Lane Fenton, including ''Records of Evoluti ...

, American geologist, palentolologist, author * P. W. Fenton, podcaster * Prudence Fenton, producer *

Richard Fenton Richard Fenton (January 1747 – November 1821) was a Welsh lawyer, topographer and poet. Biography Fenton was born in January 1747 in St David's, Pembrokeshire, and was baptised in St David's Cathedral on 20 February 1747, "being then a month ...

, Welsh topographer, poet and writer *

Roger Fenton Roger Fenton (28 March 1819 – 8 August 1869) was a British photographer, noted as one of the first war photographers. Fenton was born into a Lancashire merchant family. After graduating from London with an Arts degree, he became interested ...

, photographer * Steve Fenton, footballer * Steve Fenton, rugby league player *

, manager of West Ham United * Wayne S Fenton, psychiatrist, researcher with National Institute of Mental Health *

William N. Fenton William N. Fenton (December 15, 1908 – June 17, 2005) was an American scholar and writer known for his extensive studies of Iroquois history and culture. He started his studies of the Iroquois in the 1930s and published a number of significant w ...

, historian

People with the given name Fenton

* Fenton Johnson (1888–1958), American poet, essayist, author of short stories, editor and educator * Fenton Keogh, celebrity chef *

Fenton Robinson Fenton Lee Robinson (September 23, 1935 – November 25, 1997) was an American blues singer and exponent of the Chicago blues guitar. Biography Robinson was born near Greenwood, Mississippi. He left home at the age of 18 and moved to Memphis, ...

, blues musician * Fenton Williams, lighting designer, founder of Filament Productions *

Fenton Bailey World of Wonder Productions is an American production company founded in 1991 by filmmakers Randy Barbato and Portsmouth-born Fenton Bailey. Based in Los Angeles, California, the company specializes in documentary television and film productio ...

, filmmaker, television producer

References

{{Reflist English-language surnames English toponymic surnames