HUNTINGTON
The surname Huntington is principally of English origin and is a locational name. It is derived from several places in England that bear the name Huntington or Huntingdon, indicating that the bearer's ancestors were originally from one of these settlements. These places are found in Cheshire, Herefordshire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Yorkshire and the county town of Huntingdon.
In Old English the compound Huntingtun is composed of two elements. The first, hunta, meaning hunter or hunt, and the second, dun, meaning hill or enclosure. The resulting meaning is either “the hill of the huntsmen” or “the settlement of the hunters”, depending on the particular locality. In some places the name was recorded in the Domesday Book as Hunditone (Cheshire), Huntendon (Staffordshire) or Huntindune (Yorkshire); in others, such as Herefordshire and Shropshire, the forms Huntenetune or Hantinetune appear, indicating a settlement associated with hunters.
The earliest surviving spelling of the surname is that of Eustace de Huntendone in 1086, noted in the “Register of Old English Bynames” during the reign of King William the Conqueror. Subsequent early forms include Humphrey de Huntendun (1202, Bedfordshire), William de Huntinton (1280, Worcestershire) and Thomas de Huntyngton (1379, Yorkshire). These attestations confirm the long-standing presence of the name across various English counties.
Marriage records from the 16th century provide further evidence of its use; for example the union of Thomas Huntington and Ellen Bullen was recorded at St. Botolph’s in Bishopsgate, London, on 20 August 1564. This demonstrates that the name was already well established in England by that time.
During the period of the English Colonisation, bearers of the surname crossed to North America. Simon Huntington emigrated to Boston with his family in 1633 and is the progenitor of the American branch of the family. His descendant, Samuel Huntington (1731–1796), became a well known statesman and one of the signatories of the American Declaration of Independence.
In the United Kingdom, the surname remains common and is found throughout England, especially in the North Eastern regions such as Yorkshire and the surrounding counties. In North America the name is particularly frequent in the United States where the city of Huntington in West Virginia was named in honour of the railroad magnate Collis P. Huntington, a prominent member of the “Big Four” who developed the Central Pacific Railroad. The surname is also associated with George Huntington, the American physician who first described the eponymous Huntington’s disease in the nineteenth century.
Variations in spelling have appeared over the centuries. These include Huntingdon, Huntindon and Huntinton. The orthographic differences reflect regional pronunciation, dialectal differences and the evolution of English spelling over time. Aside from these, similar surnames such as Huntley, Hunton or Hutton share common elements in their etymology and sometimes arise as variants in historical records.
In all, the surname Huntington carries a clear locational heritage, rooted in Old English place‑names that signifier either a hill or settlement used for hunting. The name’s endurance from the pre‑Norman era to the present day testifies to its robust cultural and genealogical significance within English‑speaking societies.
Typical given names associated with the Huntington surname
Male
- David
- Ian
- James
- John
- Mark
- Michael
- Paul
- Peter
- Robert
- Stephen
Female
- Angela
- Ayesha
- Claire
- Emma
- Julie
- Lisa
- Louise
- Lucy
- Margaret
- Nadia
- Patricia
- Sarah
- Sheila
- 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 Huntington in...
Braille
⠓⠥⠝⠞⠊⠝⠛⠞⠕⠝
Morse
......--.-..-.--.-----.
Semaphore
There are approximately 1,749 people named Huntington in the UK. That makes it roughly the 4,700th most common surname in Britain. Around 27 in a million people in Britain are named Huntington.
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 Huntington
- Paul Huntington - Football player
- Eddy Huntington - Singer
- Lawrence Huntington - Film director and screenwriter (1900 to 1968)
- Maria Huntington - Finnish long jumper and heptathlete
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.