Hetherington
An English place-based surname meaning “from Hetherington,” most likely a Cumberland locality name.
The #9,552 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 90,727 Americans shares it.
Etymology
This surname is locational, taken from a place called Hetherington in Cumberland. The place name is generally understood as an old English formation, though the exact root elements are not fully certain from the excerpts alone. The first part is likely connected with heather or a similar landscape term, with the ending -ington marking a settlement or estate name.
History
The name is found in English records as a local surname and appears especially in northern English and later urban and overseas lines. The excerpts specifically associate it with Cumberland and show later spread to London, Philadelphia, and other places. The surname also appears in Irish record indexes, suggesting later migration and wider distribution beyond England.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Early surname dictionaries often grouped Hetherington with other northern English place-names ending in -ington, a common marker of settlement names.
From the historical record
“EtheringtoD, Ethrlngton, Src— Local; v. Hetherington. London, 5, o j Pratoo, o, i ; BoMoo Etty.— Bapt. ' the son of Eddie,' a sbatpened form of the sumame Eddie, q.v. ; cC Eteson for £ddl-”
— A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with special American instances