Find out how popular the last name Barrington is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Barrington.

Barrington, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Barrington surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Barrington in America

Barrington is the 6928th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Barrington surname appeared 4,843 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 2 people would have the surname Barrington.

We can also compare 2010 data for Barrington to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Barrington

The surname Barrington is an English locational name derived from the place name Barrington, which is found in various locations across England. The name is believed to have originated in the 11th century and is thought to be derived from the Old English words "bær" meaning "grove" or "barley" and "ing" meaning "people of", suggesting it referred to people living near a barley grove or groveland.

The earliest recorded instance of the name dates back to the 11th century Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as "Barentone" and "Berintone", referring to locations in Gloucestershire and Cambridgeshire. Other early spellings include "Barynton", "Baryntone", and "Barryngton".

One of the earliest notable bearers of the name was Sir John Barrington (c. 1320-1400), who served as a judge and was appointed to the King's Bench in 1365 by Edward III. Another prominent figure was Sir Thomas Barrington (c. 1370-1428), a member of Parliament and High Sheriff of Essex.

In the 16th century, Sir Francis Barrington (1528-1600) was a notable English landowner and Member of Parliament for Essex. His son, Sir John Barrington (1591-1644), was a lawyer and author who wrote works on English law.

During the 17th century, John Shute Barrington (1678-1734) was a distinguished English statesman and politician who served as Lord Privy Seal and as a member of the Cabinet under King George I and King George II.

Another notable bearer of the name was Samuel Barrington (1729-1800), a British naval officer who served in the Seven Years' War and the American Revolutionary War. He was also a member of the prestigious Order of the Bath.

The name Barrington has been associated with various places in England, including Barrington in Cambridgeshire, Barrington in Gloucestershire, Barrington in Somerset, and Great Barrington in Oxfordshire. These locations likely contributed to the widespread use of the surname across different regions of England.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Barrington

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Barrington.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Barrington was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Barrington has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Barrington was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Barrington, please contact us.

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