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

Purington, 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 Purington surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Purington in America

Purington is the 23817th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Purington surname appeared 1,061 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Purington.

We can also compare 2010 data for Purington 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 Purington

The surname Purington is believed to have originated in England, likely in the 13th or 14th century. It is considered a locational surname, derived from the name of a place, possibly a town or village called "Purinton" or a similar spelling. The name itself is thought to be derived from Old English words meaning "pure" and "town" or "settlement."

One of the earliest known records of the name Purington can be found in the Hundred Rolls of Oxfordshire, a survey of landowners in England conducted in 1279. This document mentions a person named Robert de Purinton, suggesting the name was already in use by that time.

In the 16th century, the name appeared in various forms, such as Purrington, Purynton, and Purryngton, reflecting the variations in spelling that were common in those times. One notable bearer of the name was William Purrington, who was born in Suffolk, England, around 1540 and later immigrated to Massachusetts Bay Colony in the early 1600s.

Another early record of the name can be found in the parish registers of St. Mary's Church in Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk, which mention a John Purington who was baptized in 1578. This suggests that the Purington family had established roots in that area during the late 16th century.

In the 17th century, the name Purington began to appear in various parts of New England, as several members of the family emigrated from England to the American colonies. One such individual was Thomas Purington, who was born in England around 1620 and settled in Salem, Massachusetts, in the 1640s.

During the 18th and 19th centuries, the Purington name became more widespread in the United States, with families settling in various regions, including New England, the Midwest, and the West Coast. Notable individuals with this surname include Reverend Jonathan Purington (1737-1812), a Congregational minister in Massachusetts, and Wilbur Purington (1823-1901), a lawyer and politician from Maine.

Throughout history, the Purington surname has been carried by individuals from various walks of life, including farmers, merchants, soldiers, clergymen, and professionals. While not a particularly common name, it has left its mark on the historical records of both England and the United States.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Purington

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

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

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

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!