BYNG
Byng is a hereditary surname of English provenance, with potential roots in both Old Norse and Old English. The name is generally understood to derive from the Old Norse personal name Bingr, meaning “the hollow,” or from the Old English word bing, which denotes a concave place in the landscape. Other proposed origins include the Old English benc, meaning a bench, suggesting a topographical or occupational designation. The combination of these early linguistic elements points to a person dwelling near a notable depression or mound in the countryside.
Historical scholarship indicates that the name was possibly first applied as a nickname and later became inherited. Variants that appear in medieval documents include Bing, Binge, Binn, Binning, Bingham, and Bynge. The earliest recorded instance of the family name in England is attributed to Sir Robert Byn, dated to 1327 in the Subsidy Rolls of Sussex during the reign of King Edward II. Subsequent entries such as Simon de Bynninge (London, 1396), William Byngeham (Nottingham, 1433), and Thomas Byng, known as “the Orator” (London, 1599), demonstrate the name’s early prominence.
Records from parish registries further illustrate the name’s usage in the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries. For instance, Jhon (sometimes recorded as Joan) Binge married William Hearn at the church of St Stephen and St Benet in London on 26 January 1577, while Sarah, daughter of William Binge, was christened at St Mary Whitechapel on 19 October 1609.
The heraldic device associated with the Byng family is a quarterly shield coloured black and gold, holding four lions rampant counterchanged. This distinguished coat of arms is borne by several branches of the family and appears in contemporary registers of armorial bearings.
Among the most eminent individuals to carry the surname are Admiral Sir George Byng, 1st Viscount Torrington, who served in the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries, and Admiral John Byng, who was controversially court‑martialled and executed in 1758 for failing to “do his utmost” during the Battle of Minorca. In the twentieth century, Julian Byng, 1st Viscount Byng of Vimy, received honours for his command in the First World War and was later appointed Governor‑General of Canada. These figures underscore the surname’s association with naval and military distinction.
Although Byng remains a relatively uncommon surname today, it can be found across the former British Empire. Precise counts indicate that the name is carried by a few thousand individuals worldwide, with concentrations in England, Canada, the United States, Australia, and New Zealand. The name’s diffusion is largely a product of the migration patterns of British citizens during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
In contemporary usage, the surname retains its historical breadth yet remains a marker of regional identity, often linked to the Midlands of England, particularly the town of Bingham in Nottinghamshire, and to a possible historic association with the tribe or clan of the Biningas. While variations continue to exist, the form Byng has become the standard and most widely recognised variant in modern registries. The enduring nature of this surname reflects its deep roots in the linguistic and social fabric of early medieval Britain.
Typical given names associated with the Byng surname
Male
- Andrew
- Anthony
- Christopher
- Darran
- David
- James
- Jason
- John
- Martyn
- Michael
- Richard
- Stephen
- Thomas
Female
- Amy
- Diane
- Jacqueline
- Janet
- Julie
- Karen
- Katie
- Margaret
- Michelle
- Patricia
- Susan
Similar and related surnames
Related and similar names are generated algorithmically based on the spelling, and may not necessarily share an etymology.
How to communicate the surname Byng in...
Braille
⠃⠽⠝⠛
Morse
-...-.---.--.
Semaphore
There are approximately 1,013 people named Byng in the UK. That makes it roughly the 7,314th most common surname in Britain. Around 16 in a million people in Britain are named Byng.
Famous people named Byng
- Julian Byng, 1st Viscount Byng of Vimy - Army officer who served as Governor General of Canada (1862 to 1935)
- John Byng - Royal Navy officer (1704 to 1757)
- Douglas Byng - Comic singer and songwriter (1893 to 1987)
- Georgia Byng - Children's writer
- George Byng, 1st Viscount Torrington - Royal Navy admiral (1663 to 1733)
- John Byng, 5th Viscount Torrington - Peer of the Realm (1743 to 1813)
- Arthur Byng - Cricketer (1872 to 1914)
Names and descriptions courtesy of Wikipedia, and may contain errors. This is not intended to be an exhaustive list of every famous person with this name.