Ellington

Etymology

Ellington is generally understood as a habitational surname, given to someone who came from a place called Ellington. The place-name is usually explained as meaning “Ella’s settlement” or “the settlement of Ella’s people,” built from an Old English personal name such as Ella plus the element -ing(t)un, meaning a farmstead or settlement. Because there are multiple English places with this name, the surname could have arisen independently in more than one district.

History

The name is established in England and later appears in records in Britain and North America. The excerpts supplied mainly show Ellington as a place-name in Huntingdonshire and other references to people bearing the surname, which fits a locational origin. In modern usage it is best known as an English surname carried to the United States and other English-speaking countries.

Origin

Regions

Variant spellings

Fun fact

There are several English places called Ellington, so two unrelated families could have adopted the same surname from different villages.