HARRINGTON
The Harrington surname is of strictly English origin, deriving from the place name Harrington situated within the British Isles. It was first recorded in documents of the thirteenth century and is associated with a number of settlements that share the same name.
According to the standard etymological account, Harrington derives from the Old- English elements hæfer, meaning “he‑goat,” and tun, meaning “settlement” or “enclosure.” Consequently the name signifies “the settlement of Hæfer’s people” or a community associated with that name.
Harrington is a locational surname linked to several distinct localities: in Cumberland, near Whitehaven; in Lincolnshire, near Spilsby; and in Northamptonshire, near Kettering. The Cumberland settlement appears in contemporary records as Halfringtuna or Haverinton around 1160, named from the pre‑7th‑Century byname Haefer. The Lincolnshire location is recorded in 1202 as Harinton and combines the Old- English haer, meaning “stony ground,” with tun. In Northamptonshire the name appears in the Domesday Book of 1086 as Arintone and later as Hetherington, suggesting a derivation from haeth, meaning “heath,” and thus “the settlement of the dwellers on a heath.”
In Ireland the surname may be an anglicised form of the Gaelic O' hArrachtain, descended from a personal name Arrachtan that stems from arrachtach, meaning “mighty” or “powerful.” It is also possible that some Irish bearers of the name arrived during the 17th‑century Plantations, importing the English surname to the island.
The earliest documented spelling of the family name is William de Harinton, dated to 1202 as a witness in the Assize Court Rolls of Lincolnshire. This record dates to the reign of King John, who reigned from 1199 to 1216 and was known historically as “Lackland.”
A heraldic description of the Harrington escutcheon records a red chevron placed between three black leopards’ faces upon a silver field. This coat of arms, granted to a recognised branch of the family, remains a symbol associated with the name.
An early emigrant bearing the surname was Elias Harrington, who departed London in July 1635 on the ship Assurance bound for the Virginia Colony in the American Colonies. His departure reflects the wider trend of English migration to the New World during the seventeenth century.
In contemporary times the Harrington surname persists throughout the United Kingdom, particularly concentrated near the historic sites from which it originated. It retains its status as a testament to the locational naming traditions of Anglo‑Saxon England and the enduring nature of place‑derived surnames.
Typical given names associated with the Harrington surname
Male
- Christopher
- David
- James
- John
- Mark
- Michael
- Paul
- Peter
- Richard
- Stephen
Female
- Claire
- Elizabeth
- Emma
- Jacqueline
- Julie
- Linda
- Margaret
- Mary
- Nicola
- Patricia
- Sarah
- 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 Harrington in...
Braille
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Morse
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Semaphore
Did you know?
According to a survey carried out by Democracy Club, politicians and candidates with the surname Harrington are most likely to say that their favourite biscuit is a Fig Roll.
There are approximately 14,097 people named Harrington in the UK. That makes it the 635th most common surname in Britain. Around 216 in a million people in Britain are named Harrington.
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 Harrington
- Richard Harrington - Actor
- Stephen John Harrington - Welsh pop singer (1959 to 2015)
- Richard Harrington - Politician
- James Harrington - Political theorist of classical republicanism (1611 to 1677)
- Rod Harrington - Darts player
- Patrick Harrington - Politician
- Phil Harrington - Welsh football player
- Laurence Harrington - Actor
- Alan Harrington - Welsh football player
- Richard C. Harrington - Psychiatrist (1956 to 2004)
- Colin Harrington - Football player
- William Harrington - Cricketer (1915 to 1988)
- Margaret Harrington - Canadian politician
- Eric Harrington - Canadian politician and businessman (1820 to 1898)
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.