Billington
A place-based surname, most likely meaning “from Billington,” a name borne by several English localities.
The #8,904 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 83,944 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Billington is an English habitational surname taken from one of several places called Billington, especially in Bedfordshire, Lancashire, and possibly other counties. The place-name is usually explained as containing an Old English personal name such as Billa plus the placename suffix -ing-tun, meaning “farmstead or settlement associated with Billa’s people” or “Billa’s settlement.” In older surname books the name is treated straightforwardly as local in origin.
History
The surname is long established in England, with Bardsley noting strong presence in Lancashire. Like many English locational surnames, it was adopted by people who moved away from the place name and were identified by their former home. The name also appears in early American records, including among the Mayflower passengers, helping to spread it abroad.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Lower’s 19th-century dictionary specifically cites Billington as the name of chapelries in Bedfordshire and Lancashire.
From the historical record
“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 metelle, as bellys, fusio." The old name of Billiter Laue, in London, was…”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom