Norse, Norseman, and Normans were all terms in use during the period from the late 8th century to the 11th century, while Norse invaders and explorers were also (and now, more famously) known as Vikings.

The Normans (adapted from the name "Northmen" or "Norsemen") were a mixture of the indigenous people of France and the Viking invaders under the leadership of Hrolf Ganger, who adopted the French name Rollo and swore allegiance to the king of France (Charles the Simple). Danish or Norwegian Vikings began to occupy the northern area of France now known as Normandy in the latter half of the 9th century. In 911, Charles the Simple granted them the small lower Seine area, which expanded over time to become the Duchy of Normandy.

The Norman people adopted Christianity and the Gallo-Romance language and created a new cultural identity separate from that of their Scandinavian forebears and French neighbours. Norman culture, like that of many other migrant communities, was particularly enterprising and adaptable. For a time, it led them to occupy widely dispersed territories throughout Europe.

In 1066, the most famous Norman leader, Duke William II of Normandy, conquered England. The invading Normans and their descendants replaced the Anglo-Saxons as the ruling class of England. After an initial period of resentment and rebellion, the two populations largely intermarried and merged, combining languages and traditions. Normans began to identify themselves as Anglo-Norman; indeed, the Anglo-Norman language was considerably distinct from the "Parisian French", which was the subject of some humour by Geoffrey Chaucer. Eventually, even this distinction largely disappeared in the course of the Hundred Years war, with the Anglo-Norman aristocracy increasingly identifying themselves as English, and the Anglo-Norman and Anglo-Saxon languages merging to form Middle English.

The following is from a Scottish clan site which is a reprint of the text of a booklet that is supplied with each map of Scotland that is purchased from this company. This site states that William the Conqueror also raided Scotland in 1071 and it began a period of Norman influence in Scotland that was even greater than the influence in England. The map shows clans and the names of places/towns. Here is the wording from this site and may give insight into the Scottish origins/development of Liston:

KIRKLISTON (in the old county of West Lothian) NAME ON MAP: Listun DATE: 1250 EARLIEST RECORD: Lyston DATE: 1230 MEANING: "kirk of Liston". The village name was "Lisa's (a man's name) OLD ENGLISH tun `settlement, village'". See the entry for Kirkcolm.

KIRKCOLM (in the old county of Wigtown) NAME ON MAP: Kyrkrum DATE: 1296 EARLIEST RECORD: Kerkecolemm DATE: 1186 MEANING: kirk, a SCOTTISH ENGLISH word derived from OLD ENGLISH cirice or OLD NORSE kirkja must often have been a replacement for an earlier GOIDELIC cill `church, monastic cell' in place-names. "Church of [St] Columba".

The name Liston is of Norman origin. The first Liston is believed to have come to England with William the Conqueror in 1066 and settled in Essex. Here the family possessed lands, still designated Liston Manor, in the parish of Liston.

It was their privilege to prepare the wafers for the coronation of the Kings. At this time they are referred to as the knightly family of Liston or de Liston.

The family motto is Poco a poca - Little by little.

On one of the English invasions of Scotland in about 1165, some of the Listons settled in the Lothians. This branch of the family produced many notable people including a surgeon, an ambassador and many clergymen.

In the year 1171, another Liston accompanied King Henry II to Ireland and was given land in County Limerick. It remained in the hands of the family until 1655 when it was confiscated by Oliver Cromwell and given to the Protestant Bishop of Limerick.

The Listons branched out into the various townships of Limerick where most Irish Listons live nowadays.

Throughout the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, bearers of the surname emigrated to places such as the United States, Australasia and South Africa.