Beaton (surname)

Beaton is a Scottish surname which may have multiple origins.

One origin of the name is from the placename Béthune, in Pas-de-Calais, France and is associated with the lowland clan Bethune. Another derivation of the surname is an Anglicisation of the Scottish Gaelic Mac Beath, and corresponds to the Beaton medical kindred of the Scottish Highlands and Western Isles. The surname Beaton can be represented in modern Scottish Gaelic as Peutan (masculine form), and Pheutan (feminine).

Another suggested derivation is from the mediaeval personal name Beaton or Beton, a pet form of a short form of the names Bartholomew or Beatrice. Bartholomew is a masculine name, while Beatrice is feminine; the names are not etymologically related to each other.

Notable people with the surname include:


 * Alaina Beaton (born 1985), American singer-songwriter known professionally as Porcelain Black
 * Alistair Beaton (born 1947), Scottish political satirist, novelist and television writer
 * Cecil Beaton (1904–1980), English photographer
 * David Cardinal Beaton (1494–1545), last Scottish Cardinal prior to the Reformation
 * Ewan Beaton (born 1969), Canadian judoka
 * James Beaton (1473–1539), Archbishop of Glasgow
 * James Beaton II (1517–1603), Archbishop of Glasgow
 * James Wallace Beaton (born 1943), Queen's Police Officer
 * M. C. Beaton, pseudonym of Marion Chesney
 * Kate Beaton, Canadian author of the webcomic "Hark! A Vagrant"
 * Mary Beaton, attendant of Mary, Queen of Scots
 * Noel Beaton (1925–2004), Australian politician
 * Norman Beaton (1934–1994), Guyanese actor
 * Rod Beaton (news executive) (1923–2002), American journalist and media executive
 * Rod Beaton (sportswriter) (1951–2011), American sports journalist
 * Roderick Beaton, academic at King's College London
 * Rosie Beaton, Australian radio announcer
 * Steve Beaton (born 1964), English darts player, 1996 BDO World Champion