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Thornton is English & scottish. It's a habitation name from any of the numerous places throughout England & Scotland, meaning: thorn bush, enclosure, settlement. I found this information in a surname book at the library.

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This is exactly what I remember hearing it was derived from:
http://www.last-names.net/surname.asp?surname=Thorn

I remember hearing from a reliable source that the name Thornton simply comes from the words thorn and town. That's really all I can remember. Maybe someone else has more info.