YARRINGTON
The surname Yarrington is of English origin and is primarily understood as a locational name. It is traditionally linked to one or more villages in England, each of which bears a similar root in its own name.
One frequently cited source suggests that the name derives from a village in Somerset, where the earlier form of the settlement was spelled Yarlington. In this instance, the components are Old English ing, meaning ‘people of’ or ‘tribe’, and tun, meaning ‘farm’ or ‘settlement’. Added to a tribal personal name such as Eor, the composite conveys the sense of ‘the settlement of Eor’s people’. Another theory cites a similar origin in a North Yorkshire locality known as Yarring and proposes that the suffix ton or ing indicates a descendant or dweller of that place.
There is also a tradition linking the surname to a village near Oxford in Oxfordshire, formerly recorded as Erdentune and later as Erdington. Here the Old English elements earding (a manorial farm) and tun combine to give the meaning ‘manor house farm’. The early record of the village appears in a Saxonic codex dated 714, followed by listings in the Domesday Book of 1086 under the spelling Erdentuna and in royal surveys of 1236 as Erdington. The modern spelling preserved in surnames is a later, colloquial evolution that emerged during the Middle English period.
Spelling variations are numerous and well documented. In parish deeds and marriage licences of the seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries, names appear as Yarnton, Yarranton, Yarrington, Yarington, Yerrington and Yearrington. Such diversity reflects the linguistic changes that took place in England after the Norman Conquest of 1066, as well as the gradual shift from Old English through Middle English to the standardised spelling we recognise today.
Demographic studies indicate that the surname is still relatively uncommon in England, but its bearers are more frequently found in the United States. In the early twentieth century, concentrations of the surname were noted in the states of Utah, Idaho, Maine and Ohio. Worldwide, the United States remains the country with the highest number of individuals carrying the name, followed by Canada and Australia, though precise modern distributions vary with time.
The Yarrington name is etymologically linked to a number of other Anglo‑Saxon surnames that share the suffix -ington or -ington, such as Harrington, Farrington and Barrington. These cognates often arise from the same naming convention of indicating a person’s association with a particular settlement or family lineage.
In conclusion, the surname Yarrington exemplifies the rich tapestry of English locational surnames that evolved from ancient place names. Its multiple origins and spelling variants underscore the fluid nature of early English orthography, while its continued presence in modern genealogical records testifies to the enduring legacy of England’s medieval settlements.
Typical given names associated with the Yarrington surname
Male
Female
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 Yarrington in...
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There are approximately 101 people named Yarrington in the UK. That makes it one of Britain's least common surnames. Only around two in a million people in Britain are named Yarrington.
