Show ContentsAllington History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Etymology of Allington

What does the name Allington mean?

The name Allington arrived in England after the Norman Conquest of 1066. The Allington family lived in Allington, in one of the many places so named throughout southern England. The reason for the multiple villages lies in part from the literal meaning of the place name "farmstead of the princes," from the Old English word "aetheling" + "tun." 1 There are at least three listings in the Domesday Book of 1086: Adelingetone (Lincolnshire); Adelingtone (Wiltshire); and Alintone (East Alington, Devon.) In this latter case, the place name could have derived from "farmstead associated with a man called Aella or Aelle," from the Old English personal name + "ing" + "tun." 1 Allington Castle is a stone-built moated castle in Allington, Kent that was restored in 1895 to its former full glory and is today open to the public.

Early Origins of the Allington family

The surname Allington was first found in Cambridgeshire, Rutland, Lincolnshire, and Wiltshire. The ancient Barons Alington were the scions of this family name and they first settled in Horseheath, in Cambridgeshire. The first Lord of the Manor was Sir Hildebrand de Alington who was an under Marshall to William the Conqueror at Hastings. The main branch of the family became extinct but a younger son of Sir Giles Alington held the family seat at Swinhope in the reign of Queen Elizabeth. 2 It is from this branch the family ultimately descend.

Early History of the Allington family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Allington research. Another 155 words (11 lines of text) covering the years 1400, 1410, 1416, 1429, 1433, 1436, 1439, 1446, 1459, 1500, 1586, 1610, 1641, 1642, 1648, 1659, 1680, 1681, 1682, 1685, 1691 and 1723 are included under the topic Early Allington History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Allington Spelling Variations

A multitude of spelling variations characterize Norman surnames. Many variations occurred because Old and Middle English lacked any definite spelling rules. The introduction of Norman French to England also had a pronounced effect, as did the court languages of Latin and French. Therefore, one person was often referred to by several different spellings in a single lifetime. The various spellings include Alington, Arlington, Allington and others.

Early Notables of the Allington family

Outstanding amongst the family at this time was

  • William Allington of Horseheath (1400-1459), MP for Cambridgeshire, 1433, 1436, 1439

Migration of the Allington family to Ireland

Some of the Allington family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 123 words (9 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.


Allington migration to the United States +

Many English families left England, to avoid the chaos of their homeland and migrated to the many British colonies abroad. Although the conditions on the ships were extremely cramped, and some travelers arrived diseased, starving, and destitute, once in the colonies, many of the families prospered and made valuable contributions to the cultures of what would become the United States and Canada. Research into the origins of individual families in North America has revealed records of the immigration of a number of people bearing the name Allington or a variant listed above:

Allington Settlers in United States in the 17th Century
  • Giles Allington, who arrived in Virginia in 1625 3
  • Henry Allington, who landed in Virginia in 1652 3
  • John Allington, who landed in Pennsylvania in 1682 3
Allington Settlers in United States in the 18th Century
  • Anne Allington, who arrived in Maryland in 1725
Allington Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • Robert Allington, aged 21, who landed in America, in 1892
Allington Settlers in United States in the 20th Century
  • Constance Allington, aged 25, who immigrated to the United States from Glasgow, Scotland, in 1913
  • Edith Allington, aged 50, who landed in America from Glasgow, Scotland, in 1913
  • Harry Allington, aged 28, who landed in America from Hampton, England, in 1913
  • Lizzie L Allington, aged 40, who immigrated to the United States from Teddington, England, in 1913
  • William Allington, aged 68, who landed in America, in 1922
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Allington migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

Allington Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century
  • Thomas Allington, aged 36, a farm labourer, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Arab" in 1841
  • Ettey Allington, aged 35, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Arab" in 1841
  • Henry Allington, aged 4, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Arab" in 1841
  • Caroline Allington, aged 2, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Arab" in 1841
  • Mr. William Allington, British settler, as the 2nd Detachment of New Zealand Corps of Royal New Zealand Fencibles travelling from Gravesend aboard the ship "Minerva" arriving in Auckland, New Zealand on 8th October 1847 4

Contemporary Notables of the name Allington (post 1700) +

  • Richard "Dick" Allington, American scholar and researcher at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville
  • William "Bill" Baird Allington (1903-1966), American Minor league baseball player and manager
  • Randy Allington (b. 1975), American professional football player
  • Edward Thomas Allington (1951-2017), English artist and sculptor, best known for his part in the 1980s New British Sculpture movement
  • Mabel Allington (1874-1941), English artist most known for her woodcuts
  • Nicholas Allington (b. 1921), Turkish-born British Special Operations Executive (SOE)
  • Mabel Allington Royds (1874-1941), English artist from Bedfordshire, best known for her woodcuts


  1. Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
  2. Shirley, Evelyn Philip, The Noble and Gentle Men of England; The Arms and Descents. Westminster: John Bower Nichols and Sons, 1866, Print.
  3. 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)
  4. New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 17th October 2018). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html


Houseofnames.com on Facebook