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]CITATION[CLOSE]
Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4) 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]CITATION[CLOSE]
Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)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]CITATION[CLOSE]
Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print. 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]CITATION[CLOSE]
Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print. 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]CITATION[CLOSE]
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X) 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]CITATION[CLOSE]
Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
Early History of the Bullington family
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Bullington research.
Another 135 words (10 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.
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 (pre 1700)
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.
Migration of the Bullington family to Ireland
Some of the Bullington family moved to
Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 45 words (3 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Migration of the Bullington family to the New World and Oceana
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 [5]CITATION[CLOSE]
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) - Thomas Bullington, who arrived in Maryland in 1678 [5]CITATION[CLOSE]
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)
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 emigrated 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
Suggested Readings for the name Bullington
- All in Our Family. A Family Book of the Bullington, Balbert, Legg, Golden, Vickery, Brackeen, Eastep and Other Related Families by Lilla Bullington Brackeen.