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Addington History Etymology Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

Contemporary Notables Related Stories Motto Citations

Addington History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

Etymology of Addington

What does the name Addington mean?

The ancient roots of the Addington family name are in the Anglo-Saxon culture. The name Addington comes from when the family lived in one of several places named Addington in the counties of Devon, Kent, Surrey, Northamptonshire, and Buckinghamshire. The manor in Addington in Surrey has an interesting story to tell. "The manor is held by the singular tenure of making and presenting to the king, at his coronation, a mess of pottage called mewpergynon; subject to the performance of which, a carucate of land here was granted to Tezelin, cook to William the Conqueror." 1

Early Origins of the Addington family

The surname Addington was first found in any of the aforementioned counties in Britain. Due to the rather large number of villages and parishes named Addington, one would presume that the name was derived from a local feature such as a hill or valley, but this in not the case. Literally the place name means "estate associated with a man called Eadda or Aeddi," from the Old English personal name + "-ing" + "tun." 2

Indeed there are at least four listings of the place name in the Domesday Book of 1086: Edintone (Buckinghamshire); Eddintone (Greater London); Eddintune (Kent); and Edintone (Northamptonshire.) 3

Some of the first listings of the surname include: William de Adinton in the Pipe Rolls of Buckinghamshire in 1176; Hugh de Adinton in the Assize Rolls of 1202; and Gilbert de Adintun who was listed in Surrey in 1226. 4

Early History of the Addington family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Addington research. Another 97 words (7 lines of text) covering the years 1644 and 1719 are included under the topic Early Addington History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Addington Spelling Variations

One relatively recent invention that did much to standardize English spelling was the printing press. However, before its invention even the most literate people recorded their names according to sound rather than spelling. The spelling variations under which the name Addington has appeared include Addington, Adington, Adinton, Addinton and others.

Early Notables of the Addington family

More information is included under the topic Early Addington Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Addington Ranking

In the United States, the name Addington is the 6,413^rd most popular surname with an estimated 4,974 people with that name. 5

Addington migration to the United States +

At this time, the shores of the New World beckoned many English families that felt that the social climate in England was oppressive and lacked opportunity for change. Thousands left England at great expense in ships that were overcrowded and full of disease. A great portion of these settlers never survived the journey and even a greater number arrived sick, starving, and without a penny. The survivors, however, were often greeted with greater opportunity than they could have experienced back home. These English settlers made significant contributions to those colonies that would eventually become the United States and Canada. An examination of early immigration records and passenger ship lists revealed that people bearing the name Addington arrived in North America very early:

Addington Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Jonathan Addington, who arrived in Virginia in 1639 6
Isaac Addington, who arrived in Boston, Massachusetts in 1640 6
Isaac Addington, who landed in Boston, Massachusetts in 1650 6
Benjamin Addington also settled in Virginia in 1663

Addington Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

William Addington, aged 49, who landed in Missouri in 1846 6

Addington migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Addington Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mr. Thomas Addington, English convict who was convicted in Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, England for 10 years, transported aboard the "Barossa" on 8th December 1839, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 7
Mr. Joseph Addington, (b. 1822), aged 19, English convict who was convicted in Bedfordshire, England for 10 years, transported aboard the "David Clarke" on 3rd June 1841, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 8

Addington migration to West Indies +

The British first settled the British West Indies around 1604. They made many attempts but failed in some to establish settlements on the Islands including Saint Lucia and Grenada. By 1627 they had managed to establish settlements on St. Kitts (St. Christopher) and Barbados, but by 1641 the Spanish had moved in and destroyed some of these including those at Providence Island. The British continued to expand the settlements including setting the First Federation in the British West Indies by 1674; some of the islands include Barbados, Bermuda, Cayman Island, Turks and Caicos, Jamaica and Belize then known as British Honduras. By the 1960's many of the islands became independent after the West Indies Federation which existed from 1958 to 1962 failed due to internal political conflicts. After this a number of Eastern Caribbean islands formed a free association. 9

Addington Settlers in West Indies in the 17th Century

Laurence Addington in Barbados 1684

Contemporary Notables of the name Addington (post 1700) +

Crandell Addington (1938-2024), American businessman
David Spears Addington (b. 1957), American 11th Chief of Staff to Vice President of the United States-Dick Cheney (2005-2009)
Steve Addington (b. 1964), American NASCAR crew chief
Wendell P. Addington Jr. (1953-1998), American politician, Candidate for Presidential Elector for Michigan, 1976 10
Keene Harwood Addington (1878-1922), American politician, Mayor of Lake Forest, Illinois, 1917-19 10
James A. Addington, American politician, Mayor of Westmont, Illinois, 1993-97 10
E. A. Addington, American Libertarian politician, Candidate for Texas State Senate 28th District, 1992 10
Donna Addington, American Republican politician, Delegate to Republican National Convention from Kansas, 1964 10
Stephen Addington (1729-1796), English dissenting clergyman and teacher 11
Anthony Addington (1713-1790), English physician, writer, father of Henry Addington, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom 11
... (Another 2 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

The Addington Motto +

The motto was originally a war cry or slogan. Mottoes first began to be shown with arms in the 14th and 15th centuries, but were not in general use until the 17th century. Thus the oldest coats of arms generally do not include a motto. Mottoes seldom form part of the grant of arms: Under most heraldic authorities, a motto is an optional component of the coat of arms, and can be added to or changed at will; many families have chosen not to display a motto.

Motto: Libertas sub Rege Pio
Motto Translation: Liberty under a pious King.

Citations +

Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 24th September 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/barossa
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 3rd June 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/david-clarke
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2016, January 15) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
Wikisource contributors. "Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900." Wikisource . Wikisource , 4 Jun. 2018. Web. 17 Apr. 2019