 The name Aylton is derived from name of the Anglo Saxon female leader of the settlement, Aethelgifu, and is therefore a rare survivor of its gender from that time.In the Domesday Book it is referred to simply as "Marcle" so at that time the parish may have been the "middle" Marcle between Little Marcle and Much Marcle.It is only by a fortuitous manuscript note made in the margin of a 12th-century transcription that we are able to make the link to Aylton.