Show ContentsRemington History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Early Origins of the Remington family

The surname Remington was first found in Yorkshire at Rimington (Rimmington), a township, in the parish of Gisburn, union of Clitheroe, W. division of the wapentake of Staincliffe and Ewcross. [1]

The village dates back to the Domesday Book of 1086 where it was first listed as Renitone [2] and literally meant "farmstead on the boundary stream," having derived from the Old English words "rima" + -ing" + "tun. [3]

The first record of the family was found in 1219 as Goda de Rimington who was listed in the Assize Rolls of Yorkshire at that time. Years later, Henry de Rymington was listed in the Subsidy Rolls of Yorkshire in 1297 and Matilda Rymyngton, de Remymgton was listed in the Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379. [4] The same rolls also listed Robertus de Rymngton in 1379. [5]

William Remington or Rimston (fl. 1372), was an English theological writer, a Cistercian monk of Salley, Yorkshire, and graduated doctor of theology at Oxford. He was Chancellor of Oxford in 1372. [6]

Early History of the Remington family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Remington research. Another 89 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1086, 1372 and 1500 are included under the topic Early Remington History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Remington Spelling Variations

Until quite recently, the English language has lacked a definite system of spelling rules. Consequently, Anglo-Saxon surnames are characterized by a multitude of spelling variations. Changes in Anglo-Saxon names were influenced by the evolution of the English language, as it incorporated elements of French, Latin, and other languages. Although Medieval scribes and church officials recorded names as they sounded, so it is common to find one person referred to by several different spellings of his surname, even the most literate people varied the spelling of their own names. Variations of the name Remington include Remington, Remmington, Rimington, Rimmington and others.

Early Notables of the Remington family

Distinguished members of the family include

  • William Remington of Sawley Abbey

Remington Ranking

In the United States, the name Remington is the 5,220th most popular surname with an estimated 4,974 people with that name. [7]


United States Remington migration to the United States +

Searching for a better life, many English families migrated to British colonies. Unfortunately, the majority of them traveled under extremely harsh conditions: overcrowding on the ships caused the majority of the immigrants to arrive diseased, famished, and destitute from the long journey across the ocean. For those families that arrived safely, modest prosperity was attainable, and many went on to make invaluable contributions to the development of the cultures of the new colonies. Research into the origins of individual families in North America revealed records of the immigration of a number of people bearing the name Remington or a variant listed above:

Remington Settlers in United States in the 17th Century
  • Miss Alice Remington, aged  26, from England who arrived in Virginia aboard the ship "America" arriving in June 1635 [8]
  • Miss Elizabeth Remington, aged  20, from England who arrived in Virginia aboard the ship "America" arriving in June 1635 [8]
  • Mr. Phillip Remington, aged  28, from England who arrived in Virginia aboard the ship "America" arriving in June 1635 [8]
  • John Remington, who landed in Newbury, Massachusetts in 1637 [8]
  • Jon Remington, who arrived in Virginia in 1642 [8]
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)
Remington Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • G J A Remington, aged 16, who arrived in New York in 1864 [8]
  • Newman Remington, aged 22, who landed in New York in 1868 [8]

Canada Remington migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Remington Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century
  • Mr. Gershom Remington U.E. born in Pennsylvania, USA who settled in Pennfield, Charlotte County, New Brunswick c. 1784 [9]
  • Mr. Jonathan Remington U.E., (Rementon) born in Pennsylvania, USA who settled in Pennfield, Charlotte County, New Brunswick c. 1784 [9]

New Zealand Remington 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:

Remington Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century
  • John Remington, aged 21, a painter, who arrived in Port Nicholson aboard the ship "London" in 1842
  • Rebecca Remington, aged 19, who arrived in Port Nicholson aboard the ship "London" in 1842
  • John Remington, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Telegraph" in 1863

West Indies Remington migration to West Indies +

The British first settled the British West Indies around 1604. They made many attempts but failed in some to establish settlements on the Islands including Saint Lucia and Grenada. By 1627 they had managed to establish settlements on St. Kitts (St. Christopher) and Barbados, but by 1641 the Spanish had moved in and destroyed some of these including those at Providence Island. The British continued to expand the settlements including setting the First Federation in the British West Indies by 1674; some of the islands include Barbados, Bermuda, Cayman Island, Turks and Caicos, Jamaica and Belize then known as British Honduras. By the 1960's many of the islands became independent after the West Indies Federation which existed from 1958 to 1962 failed due to internal political conflicts. After this a number of Eastern Caribbean islands formed a free association. [10]
Remington Settlers in West Indies in the 17th Century
  • Thomas Remington, who settled in Barbados in 1669

Contemporary Notables of the name Remington (post 1700) +

  • Eliphalet Remington (1793-1861), American firearms designer, founder of Remington Arms Co., L.L.C. in 1816
  • Philo Remington (1816-1889), American inventor, President of Remington Arms Co., L.L.C.; he perfected the Remington breech-loading rifle, son of Eliphalet Remington
  • Charles Lee Remington (1922-2007), American entomologist and lepidopterist
  • William Remington (1917-1954), American economist
  • Emory Remington (1891-1971), American trombonist
  • William Remington (1879-1963), American athlete
  • Frederic Remington (1861-1909), American painter and sculptor
  • H. P. Remington, American Republican politician, Delegate to Republican National Convention from North Dakota, 1952 [11]
  • Frederic Remington Jr., American Republican politician, Member of New Jersey Republican State Committee, 1976 [11]
  • Earl J. Remington, American Democratic Party politician, Alternate Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Pennsylvania, 1952 [11]
  • ... (Another 10 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)


  1. Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
  2. Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
  3. Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
  4. Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
  5. Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
  6. Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. Print
  7. "What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
  8. 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)
  9. Rubincam, Milton. The Old United Empire Loyalists List. Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc, 1976. (Originally published as; United Empire Loyalists. The Centennial of the Settlement of Upper Canada. Rose Publishing Company, 1885.) ISBN 0-8063-0331-X
  10. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies
  11. The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, December 8) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html


Houseofnames.com on Facebook