Billings
A surname that most likely began as a place-based name, referring to someone from Billing in England.
The #1,588 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 13,690 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Billings is usually explained as a locational surname, meaning “of Billing” or “from Billing.” The place-name Billing is generally taken to come from an Old English personal name, so the surname likely began as an identifier for someone who came from that settlement. Some older writers also treated it as a plural or family-form of Billing.
History
The name appears in English records and later spread more widely through English-speaking countries. 19th-century surname writers also noted possible links with old Germanic personal and place names, but the simplest and most common explanation is that it is habitational. In the United States, Billings became established as a relatively uncommon but recognizable surname.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The same root also appears in several related surnames and place-names, such as Billingham and Billington.
From the historical record
“BILLINGIIURST. A parish in Sussex. BILLINGS. A pluralization of Billing ? BILLINGSLEY. A parish in co. Salop. BILLINGTON. Chapelrles in cos. Bed- ford and Lancaster. BILLITER. Apparently a bell-founder. The Promptorium has hcllezeter (Halliw.), Avhich BIr. Way derives from the A- Sax. zeotere, fusor. ^'^ Zctynge of…”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom