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

Darlington, 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 Darlington surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Darlington in America

Darlington is the 10107th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Darlington surname appeared 3,187 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 Darlington.

We can also compare 2010 data for Darlington 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 Darlington

The surname Darlington originated in England and can be traced back to the early 12th century. It is a locational name derived from the town of Darlington in County Durham, which itself took its name from the Old English words 'deor' meaning deer and 'inga' meaning people or the people of the deer.

The earliest known record of the Darlington surname appears in the Pipe Rolls of Yorkshire from 1166, where one Robert de Derlingtona is listed. This suggests that the name was already well-established by the late 12th century.

In the Domesday Book of 1086, the town of Darlington is referred to as 'Derinctun', an earlier spelling that reflects the Old English origins of the name. Other early variations of the surname include Derlington, Derlingtone, and Derlyngton.

One of the earliest recorded individuals with the Darlington surname was Sir Ralph Darlington, a knight who was born around 1290 and served under King Edward III in the Scottish Wars of Independence. In 1335, he was appointed Constable of Bamburgh Castle in Northumberland.

Another notable figure was Thomas Darlington, born in 1457, who was a prominent merchant and alderman in the city of Newcastle upon Tyne during the late 15th century.

In the 17th century, William Darlington (1589-1654) was an English clergyman and author, best known for his work 'The Honour of Lady-Eminence', published in 1642.

The 18th century saw the birth of Abraham Darlington (1711-1777), an English botanist and physician who made significant contributions to the study of plant life in Pennsylvania, USA.

Finally, in the 19th century, Ralph Darlington (1824-1903) was a prominent English railway engineer and inventor, known for his work on the development of the steam locomotive and his patented designs for railway track components.

Throughout its history, the Darlington surname has been closely associated with the town of Darlington and the surrounding regions of northern England, though bearers of the name can now be found worldwide.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Darlington

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

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

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

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