Horton

Horton is a proper noun used as a surname, a place name, and in popular culture. As a surname, Horton originates in England and has spread to other English-speaking countries. As a place name, Horton identifies several towns and villages in the United Kingdom and the United States.

In geography, there are settlements named Horton in various counties in England and other parts of the world. The name is also found in the United States, where towns and communities bear the name Horton.

In literature and media, Horton the Elephant is a central character in Dr. Seuss's children's books, including Horton Hears a Who! and Horton Hatches the Egg. He is celebrated for his steadfastness and for the line, “A person’s a person, no matter how small,” underscoring themes of dignity and protection for those unable to defend themselves.

In technology and business, Hortonworks was a data software company focused on the Apache Hadoop ecosystem. It merged with Cloudera in 2019 to form Cloudera, Inc., a company providing big data software and services.