Bing
An old surname that likely began as a short personal name, later giving rise to place-based surnames like Bingham and Bingley.
The #8,133 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 75,747 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The surname Bing is usually treated as a survival of an old personal name rather than as a descriptive word. Nineteenth-century surname writers noted that Bing appears in place-names such as Bingham, Bingley, and Bingfield, and inferred that Bing was probably an ancient given name. The exact original meaning is uncertain, but the name seems to be native to early English naming rather than borrowed from a later source.
History
Lower and Barber both connect Bing with related surnames and local names, especially in England. The form is uncommon as a stand-alone surname, but it helped generate or survive in several related place-derived surnames. Because the evidence is old and somewhat speculative, the surname is best treated as an early English name of uncertain precise sense.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Some surname dictionaries treat Bing and Byng as variants of the same old name, which is why the related surname Byng is often discussed alongside Bing.
From the historical record
“BINFIELD. A parish in Berks. BING. See Byng. BINGHAIM. Seated temp. Henry I., at Sutton-Bingham, co. Somerset, and after- wards and now at Melcombe- Bingham. Said to be of Saxon antirpiity. BINGLEY. A parish in Yorkshu-e. BINNEY. Binnie, In the parish of Up- hale, Luilithgowshirc.”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom