Hutton

The origin of this name in Scotland is obscure. A family called De Hoton is recorded as an ancient and noble family in the county palatine of Lancaster, who were granted arms by the English heralds in the sixteenth century. A Simon de Hotun is listed by Black as juror on an inquest held in Lanark in 1263. Arms were recorded on behalf of Dr John Hutton, whom Nisbet states to have claimed to be a representor of Hutton of that Ilk, and who was chief physician to William and Mary in 1692. James Hutton was an eminent geologist and philosopher, who published in 1795 a major work expounding his theory of geology, which attributed the structure of the solid parts of the earth to the action of fire. He was a fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh and his prominence in that city led to his inclusion in Kay’s Edinburgh Portraits. He is considered one of the founders of modern geology.