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

Billington, 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 Billington surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Billington in America

Billington is the 8904th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Billington surname appeared 3,678 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Billington.

We can also compare 2010 data for Billington 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 Billington

The surname Billington is of English origin, derived from the place name Billington, a village in the Ribble Valley district of Lancashire. The name is believed to have originated in the 12th or 13th century, with the earliest known spelling being "Billingeton" or "Bilinton."

The name Billington is thought to be derived from the Old English words "billing" or "billingr," which means "hill" or "ridge," and "tun," meaning "farm" or "enclosure." Thus, the name literally translates to "the farm or enclosure on the hill or ridge."

One of the earliest recorded mentions of the surname Billington can be found in the Pipe Rolls of Lancashire, a historical record dating back to 1176-1177. The name is also mentioned in the Assize Rolls of Lancashire in 1246, referring to a person named Richard de Billington.

In the 13th century, a family bearing the name Billington held lands in the township of Billington, near Whalley in Lancashire. This suggests that the surname may have originated from this particular location.

One notable historical figure with the surname Billington was John Billington, who was born around 1580. He was a passenger on the Mayflower and one of the earliest settlers of the Plymouth Colony in Massachusetts. Billington is often referred to as the first person convicted of murder in the American colonies.

Another significant individual with the Billington surname was Thomas Billington, a 17th-century English composer and organist. He was born around 1625 and served as the organist at Westminster Abbey from 1665 until his death in 1684.

In the 18th century, William Billington, a British tenor singer, was born in 1746. He gained fame for his performances in operas and concerts across Europe.

The 19th century saw the birth of Elizabeth Billington, a renowned English operatic soprano, in 1768. She was highly celebrated for her performances in major opera houses throughout Europe and is considered one of the finest English sopranos of her time.

Lastly, Samuel Billington, a British artist and painter, was born in 1847. He is best known for his landscape paintings, particularly those depicting scenes from the Lake District in England.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Billington

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

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 Billington 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 Billington 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 Billington was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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