Bullington History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Ireland

The name Bullington is Anglo-Saxon in origin. It was a name given to a person who lived at one of several settlements named Billington in the counties of Bedfordshire, Lancashire, or Staffordshire.

Early spellings of the place name include: Billendon, Bedfordshire in 1196 and Billingduna, Lancashire in the same year. 1 It is generally thought the place name meant "hill with a sharp ridge," from the Old English word "billing" + "dun" or "hill of a man called Billa." 1

Early Origins of the Bullington family

The surname Bullington was first found in Lancashire at Billington, a township and district chapelry, in the parish, union, and Lower division of the hundred, of Blackburn. 2

The town has been listed various spellings over the years: Billindon (1203); Billinton (1208); Bilingdon (1241) and later as Belyngton or Bilyngton. This area "is supposed to have been the scene of a battle that occurred between Wada, a Saxon duke, one of the murderers of Ethelred, and Ardulph, King of Northumbria, in the year 798, when the former was defeated." 2

While the surname was primarily found in Lancashire, we must look of Staffordshire to find the first record, specifically Robert de Billington who was listed there in the Assize Rolls of 1203. 3 William de Bilington was listed in the Lay Subsidy Rolls of Lancashire in 1332 as was Adam de Billington. In nearby Yorkshire, Johannes de Billyngton was listed in the Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379. 4

Early History of the Bullington family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Bullington research. Another 68 words (5 lines of text) covering the years 1575, 1580, 1595, 1630, 1663, 1696, 1737, 1768 and 1774 are included under the topic Early Bullington History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Bullington Spelling Variations

Until the dictionary, an invention of only the last few hundred years, the English language lacked any comprehensive system of spelling rules. Consequently, spelling variations in names are frequently found in early Anglo-Saxon and later Anglo-Norman documents. One person's name was often spelled several different ways over a lifetime. The recorded variations of Bullington include Billington, Billingston, Billingdon and others.

Early Notables of the Bullington family

Distinguished members of the family include John Billington (c.1580-1630), a signer of the Mayflower Compact; he was the first Englishman to be convicted of murder in the New World, and the first to be hanged for any crime in New England. Billington was also a signer of the Mayflower Compact.Mrs. Elizabeth Billington was the daughter of Carl Weichsel, a native of Freiberg in Saxony, and principal clarinet at the King's Theatre. Her mother was for several years a...
Another 77 words (6 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Bullington Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Bullington Ranking

In the United States, the name Bullington is the 6,238^th most popular surname with an estimated 4,974 people with that name. 5

Migration of the Bullington family to Ireland

Some of the Bullington family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt. More information about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Bullington migration to the United States +

Thousands of English families boarded ships sailing to the New World in the hope of escaping the unrest found in England at this time. Although the search for opportunity and freedom from persecution abroad took the lives of many because of the cramped conditions and unsanitary nature of the vessels, the opportunity perceived in the growing colonies of North America beckoned. Many of the settlers who survived the journey went on to make important contributions to the transplanted cultures of their adopted countries. The Bullington were among these contributors, for they have been located in early North American records:

Bullington Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Nicholas Bullington, who landed in Virginia in 1623 6
Thomas Bullington, who arrived in Maryland in 1678 6

Bullington Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Henry N. Bullington, aged 54, who landed in America, in 1893

Bullington Settlers in United States in the 20th Century

Alexander Bullington, aged 11, who settled in America, in 1918
Orville Bullington, aged 41, who immigrated to the United States, in 1923
Sadie Bullington, aged 36, who settled in America, in 1923

Contemporary Notables of the name Bullington (post 1700) +

Bryan Paul Bullington (b. 1980), American Major League Baseball right-handed pitcher
Kenneth Bullington (1913-1984), American electrical engineer, recipient of the 1956 IEEE Morris N. Liebmann Memorial Award
Wally "Coach Bully" Bullington, former American football player, coach, and sports figure
Jesse Bullington, American fantasy writer from Boulder, Colorado
Orville Bullington (1882-1956), American attorney and businessman in Wichita Falls, Texas

Citations +

Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
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)