Harrington
A surname from English place-names, originally meaning someone from a place called Harrington or Herrington.
The #500 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 4,611 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Harrington is a locational surname taken from one or more English place-names, especially Harrington in Cumberland and related forms such as Herrington in Durham. The name is generally explained as meaning “the settlement or town of Haring/Hæring,” with the first element likely a personal name and the ending -ton from Old English tūn, “farm, village, settlement.” In other words, it began as a label for someone who came from that place.
History
The surname is found in medieval English records and was later established in gentry and local families. Nineteenth-century surname writers noted several possible place-based origins, but they agreed that it is primarily a local surname rather than one derived from an occupation or nickname. It also spread widely through Britain and, later, to North America and other English-speaking regions.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The spelling variation Herrington reflects the same broad place-name family and has led some early scholars to link the surname with more than one English locality.
From the historical record
“The Right Rev. Bishop Browne, 2, Campden House Road, W.8. J. F. L. Brunner, Esq., M.P., 43, Harrington Gardens, S.W.7. A. C. Caldicott, Esq., Church House, Henley-in-Arden. G. P. Cardell, Esq., 21, Chorley New Road, Bolton.”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)