# Fenton (name)

Fenton is both a surname and a male given-name, literally-meaning "fen/marsh town", originating as the name of several English places, popular in the United States and New Zealand. 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
### Actors and actresses

* Lavinia Fenton (1708-1760)
* Leonard Fenton (1926-2022)
* Simon Fenton

### Journalists

* Anthony Fenton
* Faith Fenton
* Tom Fenton

### Musicians

* Bernie Fenton (1921-2001), British jazz pianist, co-founder of Club Eleven
* Carl Fenton
* George Fenton
* Julian Fenton
* Paul Fenton
* Shane Fenton, singer aka Alvin Stardust

### Politicians

* Bob Fenton (1923–2013), New Zealand politician
* Darien Fenton (born 1954), New Zealand politician
* Donovan Fenton, American politician from New Hampshire
* Ivor D. Fenton (1889–1986), American politician from Pennsylvania
* James Fenton (1864–1950), Australian politician
* Joseph S. Fenton (1781–1851), American politician from Michigan
* Kelly Fenton (born 1966), American politician from Minnesota
* Reuben Fenton (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, Scottish footballer
* Georgia-Mae Fenton (born 2000), British artistic gymnast
* Geraldine Fenton
* Isaac Fenton (1910–1997), English footballer
* John Fenton (hurler)
* Lorraine Fenton
* Nick Fenton
* Paul Fenton (ice hockey), American ice hockey player
* Peggy Fenton (1927–2013), American baseball player
* Rashad Fenton (born 1997), American football player
* Ron Fenton (1940–2013), English footballer and manager
* Ted Fenton

### Writers

* Elijah Fenton (1683–1730), an English poet, biographer and translator.
* Geoffrey Fenton (c. 1539 – 1608), an English writer
* James Fenton (born 1949), an English poet, journalist and literary critic. He is a former Oxford Professor of Poetry
* James Fenton (1931–2021), Ulster Scots writer and poet.

### Other

* Carroll Lane Fenton, American geologist, paleontologist, author
* Clyde Fenton, flying doctor
* David Fenton, founder of Fenton Communications
* Edward Fenton (died 1603), navigator
* Frank Fenton (disambiguation)
* Geoffrey Fenton (c. 1539–1608), English writer, Privy Councillor, and Principal Secretary of State in Ireland
* Gwen Fenton, Australian Antarctic scientist
* H. J. H. Fenton, chemical engineer
* John Charles Fenton, lawyer
* Joseph Fenton, informer killed by the Provisional Irish Republican Army
* Joseph Clifford Fenton, editor of American Ecclesiastical Review (1944–66)
* Mildred Adams Fenton, American geologist, palaeontologist, author
* Myles Fenton (1830–1918), British manager of railway companies
* Prudence Fenton, producer
* Richard Fenton, Welsh topographer, poet and writer
* Roger Fenton, photographer
* Steve Fenton, footballer
* Steve Fenton, rugby league player
* Suzanne Fenton, American biologist
* Ted Fenton, manager of West Ham United
* Wayne S Fenton, psychiatrist, researcher with National Institute of Mental Health
* William N. Fenton, historian

## People with the given name

* Fenton Johnson (poet) (1888–1958), American poet, essayist, author of short stories, editor and educator
* Fenton Keogh, celebrity chef
* Fenton Robinson, blues musician
* Fenton Williams, lighting designer, founder of Filament Productions
* Fenton Bailey, filmmaker and television producer

## Fictional characters

* Fenton, a 'young gentleman' in Shakespeare's The Merry Wives of Windsor
* Harry Fenton, in the television series Peaky Blinders
* Lord Fenton, in the novel 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, from the animated television series Home Movies
* Fenton Hardy from the Hardy Boys books
* Fenton O'Connell, an alias of Kevin Ryan in the television series Castle
* Fenton Meiks, in the film Frailty
* Fenton, a minor character who has a feud with Fez in the television series That '70s Show
* Daniel Fenton, a main character of the animiated television series Danny Phantom