Bellinger
Usually an English form of Berenger, a name tied to the idea of a spear-carrying warrior.
The #5,917 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 53,004 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The surname is commonly explained as a variant of Berenger, a personal name of Germanic origin. The name is built from elements meaning "people, folk" and "spear," giving a sense like "spear of the people" or "warrior-spear." Some 19th-century writers also linked Bellinger to place-names or to French forms, but the Berenger explanation is the one most often repeated in the sources here.
History
Historical references show the name appearing in England by the 16th century, especially in London records. Later surname dictionaries note frequent spelling shifts between Berenger, Bellinger, Ballinger, and related forms, which is typical of medieval and early modern name variation. The form has also been treated as an English rendering of a Norman-French name.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
One source notes that Bellinger belongs to a wider family of surnames where -r-, -l-, and -n- sounds were often confused in spelling over time.
From the historical record
“SELLENGERl (A.-Fr.-Teut.) BeL to St. BELLINGER J L£ger (a common French eccles. place-name: several in Normandy) , for St. Leutg^r, Liutg#r, Liudg^r, L^6d(e)gar, i.e. National Spear fO.H. Ger. liut- (Ger. leute, people) = O.Sax. liud- = O.E. Mod, nation + O.H.Ger. O.Sax. g^r = O.E. gdr, a spear] " Sellenger'…”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)