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]
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]
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Bullington research. Another 68 words (5 lines of text) covering the years 1575, 1663, 1595, 1737, 1580 and 1630 are included under the topic Early Bullington History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
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.
Another 49 words (4 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Bullington Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
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.
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: