FARRINGTON
The surname Farrington is of early English origin and is recognised as a locational name. It derives from Old English elements meaning forested or marshy settlement, and indicates a person who dwelt near or was connected with a particular place where ferns or marsh plants were abundant.
In linguistic terms the name is composed of the word fearn – meaning fern – and the suffix tun, signifying a village, homestead or enclosure. Consequently, a Farrington was originally someone who lived at or near a settlement that was identified by its plentiful ferns or its marshy terrain.
Earliest documentary evidence of the surname appears in the mid‑thirteen‑cents. Official records from 1273 in the Hundred Rolls of Somerset record a Roger de Faryndon, while the 1379 Poll Tax rolls of Yorkshire list Johannes de Feryngton. Other early samples include John Farington of Farington in Lancashire, whose will was preserved in Chester in 1595, and the London marriage of Jane Forrington to Richard Cooper at St Pancras Old Church in 1835.
Throughout the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries the name was recorded in Ireland, where Simon de Faryngton served as Lord Treasurer and baron of the Exchequer of Ireland in 1399, and a Hugh Farrington is mentioned in 1413 for an enquiry into excise duties on imported wines. By the seventeenth century the surname had spread to the New World, with Thomas Farrington reported in the mid‑seventeenth‑century New England area of the United States in 1647.
Today the surname remains common in both the United Kingdom and the United States. In the UK it is particularly frequent in England and Wales, often associated with Lancashire, Northamptonshire and Somerset. In the United States it appears north‑east of the Mississippi, notably in New York, Massachusetts, Connecticut and Pennsylvania, and extends to the western states of Washington and Texas.
Several orthographic variants of the name exist, the most frequent being Farington, Farringdon and Ferrington. Related surnames include Furrington, Farin, Ferring, and Ferrant, illustrating the common practice of spelling changes as families moved to different regions or adapted to new administrative languages.
Typical given names associated with the Farrington surname
Male
- Andrew
- David
- Ian
- James
- John
- Mark
- Michael
- Paul
- Peter
- Stephen
Female
- Claire
- Deborah
- Elizabeth
- Emma
- Helen
- Janet
- Julie
- Lisa
- Margaret
- Nicola
- Patricia
- Sarah
- Susan
Similar and related surnames
- Farington
- Fairington
- Fairinington
- Fairmington
- Fairnington
- Faringdon
- Farinton
- Farlington
- Farmington
- Farnington
- Farring
- Farringdon
- Farrinton
- Ferington
- Ferrington
- Ffarrington
- Forington
- Forrington
- Frington
- Furrington
- Fairing
- Farings
- Farthington
- Fawdington
- Fearing
- Ferring
- Fordington
- Forkington
- Fortington
- Frankton
Related and similar names are generated algorithmically based on the spelling, and may not necessarily share an etymology.
How to communicate the surname Farrington in...
Braille
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Morse
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Semaphore
There are approximately 5,668 people named Farrington in the UK. That makes it roughly the 1,667th most common surname in Britain. Around 87 in a million people in Britain are named Farrington.
Surname type: Location or geographical feature
Origin: English
Region of origin: British Isles
Country of origin: England
Religion of origin: Christian
Language of origin: English
Famous people named Farrington
- Suzanne Farrington - Actress (1933 to 2015)
- Kenneth Farrington - Actor
- Mark Farrington - Football player
- Josie Farrington, Baroness Farrington of Ribbleton - Politician (1940 to 2018)
- John Farrington - Professional football player
- Wendy Farrington -
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.