Donington History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

The ancestry of the name Donington dates from the ancient Anglo-Saxon culture of Britain. It comes from when the family lived by a stream at the hill. The surname Donington originally derived from the Old English word Dunestorp which later changed to Donnington. The surname Donington is a topographic surname, which was given to a person who resided near a physical feature such as a hill, stream, church, or type of tree. Habitation names form the other broad category of surnames that were derived from place-names. They were derived from pre-existing names for towns, villages, parishes, or farmsteads. Other local names are derived from the names of houses, manors, estates, regions, and entire counties. As a general rule, the greater the distance between an individual and their homeland, the larger the territory they were named after. For example, a person who only moved to another parish would be known by the name of their original village, while people who migrated to a different country were often known by the name of a region or country from which they came.

Early Origins of the Donington family

The surname Donington was first found in Leicestershire where they held a family seat from very ancient times, some say well before the Norman Conquest and the arrival of Duke William at Hastings in 1066 A.D.

Early History of the Donington family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Donington research. Another 87 words (6 lines of text) covering the year 1532 is included under the topic Early Donington History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Donington Spelling Variations

Spelling variations in names were a common occurrence before English spelling was standardized a few hundred years ago. In the Middle Ages, even the literate spelled their names differently as the English language incorporated elements of French, Latin, and other European languages. Many variations of the name Donington have been found, including Donnington, Donington, Donnyngton, Donyngton and many more.

Early Notables of the Donington family

Notables of this surname at this time include:

Thomas Donington...
The defence was that Donington was an intruder, and that his agent, Thomas Halsall, had a particular grudge against the rectors of Sefton and Aughton: 'if a dog had a matter against them he would take...

Donington migration to the United States +

Families began migrating abroad in enormous numbers because of the political and religious discontent in England. Often faced with persecution and starvation in England, the possibilities of the New World attracted many English people. Although the ocean trips took many lives, those who did get to North America were instrumental in building the necessary groundwork for what would become for new powerful nations. Some of the first immigrants to cross the Atlantic and come to North America bore the name Donington, or a variant listed above:

Donington Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Robert Donington, who arrived in Virginia in 1721
William Donington, who arrived in New England in 1746