Show ContentsHarrington Surname History

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Extended Surname History Download (PDF) - Letter Size

Etymology of Harrington

What does the name Harrington mean?

While the name Harrington is a well-known English name, people with this surname who claim Ireland as their homeland probably do so correctly. The Birth Registry of 1890 of families in Ulster that were of Scottish/English stock reveals no entries for the surname Harrington. Ancient records reveal that the name was originally Ó Airchdain in Gaelic (O'Hart).

Early Origins of the Harrington family

The surname Harrington was first found in south-west Cork and Kerry. There are numerous versions of the name in Gaelic including: O'Hungerdell, Ó hIongardail, Ó hOireachtaigh (found in County Galway and County Mayo), and Ó hArrachtain (found in the Tralee-Dingle area of Kerry). All have been Anglicized into Harrington or one of it's variants for record keeping. 1

Early History of the Harrington family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Harrington research. Another 33 words (2 lines of text) covering the years 1851 and 1910 are included under the topic Early Harrington History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Harrington Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Harrington, Harington, Harraghtan, Hargadan and many more.

Early Notables of the Harrington family

  • Timothy Harrington (1851-1910), Secretary of the Land League and Lord Mayor of Dublin

Harrington World Ranking

the United States, the name Harrington is the 478th most popular surname with an estimated 59,688 people with that name. 2 However, in Australia, the name Harrington is ranked the 523rd most popular surname with an estimated 7,363 people with that name. 3 And in New Zealand, the name Harrington is the 669th popular surname with an estimated 1,056 people with that name. 4 The United Kingdom ranks Harrington as 646th with 10,085 people. 5

Harrington migration to the United States +



Harrington Settlers in United States in the 17th Century
  • Edward Harrington who arrived in Virginia in 1606
  • Thomas Harrington, who settled in Maryland in 1633
  • William Harrington, who landed in Maryland in 1633-1641 6
  • Robert Harrington, who arrived in Watertown, Massachusetts in 1634 6
  • Elias Harrington, aged 22, who landed in Virginia in 1635 aboard the ship "Assurance" 6
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)
Harrington Settlers in United States in the 18th Century
  • James Harrington, who landed in Salem, Massachusetts in 1768 6
Harrington Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • Robert Harrington, who landed in Alexandria, Va in 1818 6
  • C. Harrington, who settled in Boston Massachusetts in 1822
  • Michael Harrington, who landed in Mobile County, Ala in 1840 6
  • Bridget Harrington, who settled in Boston in 1850
  • Joseph Harrington, who arrived in San Francisco, California in 1851 6
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Harrington migration to Canada +

Harrington Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century
  • Jabez Harrington, who arrived in Nova Scotia in 1760
Harrington Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century
  • Johana Harrington, who arrived in Nova Scotia in 1826
  • Honors Harrington, who landed in Nova Scotia in 1828
  • John Harrington, who arrived in Nova Scotia in 1830
  • John Harrington, who landed in Canada in 1831
  • Reuben Harrington, who arrived in Canada in 1832
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)
Harrington Settlers in Canada in the 20th Century
  • Miss N Harrington, who landed in Saint John, New Brunswick in 1907

Harrington migration to Australia +

Harrington Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century
  • Miss Margaret Harrington, (Falby, Peggy, Sullivan), (b. 1764), aged 46, English convict who was convicted in Middlesex, England for life, transported aboard the "Canada" in March 1810, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 7
  • Mr. William Harrington, English convict who was convicted in Lancaster, Lancashire, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Atlas" on 16th January 1816, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 8
  • Thomas Harrington, English convict from Staffordshire, who was transported aboard the "Asia" on September 3rd, 1820, settling in New South Wales, Australia 9
  • Mr. Jeramiah Harrington, (Jeremiah), (b. 1786), aged 34, Irish sailor who was convicted in Dublin, Ireland for 7 years for felony, transported aboard the "Dorothy" on 5th May 1820, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 10
  • Miss Matty Harrington, (Harrigan, Hannagan), (b. 1807), aged 19, Irish house servant who was convicted in Londonderry, Ireland for 7 years for shop lifting, transported aboard the "Brothers" on 3rd October 1826, arriving in New South Wales, Australia, she died in 1891 11
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Harrington 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:

Harrington Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century
  • Mrs. Mary Ann Harrington, (b. 1803), aged 52, British settler travelling from London aboard the ship "Grasmere" arriving in Lyttelton, Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand on 4th May 1855 12
  • Mr. William Harrington, (b. 1803), aged 52, British wheelwright travelling from London aboard the ship "Grasmere" arriving in Lyttelton, Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand on 4th May 1855 12
  • Mr. Thomas Harrington, (b. 1835), aged 20, British labourer travelling from London aboard the ship "Grasmere" arriving in Lyttelton, Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand on 4th May 1855 12
  • Miss Eliza Harrington, (b. 1837), aged 18, British servant travelling from London aboard the ship "Grasmere" arriving in Lyttelton, Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand on 4th May 1855 12
  • Miss Sarah Ann Harrington, (b. 1842), aged 17, English domestic servant from Suffolk travelling from London aboard the ship "Zealandia" arriving in Lyttelton, Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand on 14th November 1859 13
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Contemporary Notables of the name Harrington (post 1700) +

  • Bernard Joseph Harrington (1933-2025), American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church, served as bishop of the Diocese of Winona in Minnesota (1998-2009) and as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Detroit in Michigan (1993-1998)
  • Edward Francis Harrington (1933-2025), American lawyer who served as a Senior Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts (2001-2025), Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Massaschusetts (1988-2001)
  • David C. Harrington (1954-2022), American politician, Member of the Maryland State Senate (2008-2011), President and CEO of the Prince George's Chamber of Commerce (2008-2022)
  • Betty-Jean Maycock Harrington (b. 1942), American Olympic gymnast from Cleveland, Ohio, member of the American gymnastics team that placed ninth at the 1960 Summer Olympics
  • Penny E. Harrington (1942-2021), American police officer who became the first female chief of the Portland Police Bureau, making her the first female to head a major police department in the United States
  • Al Harrington (1935-2021), born Tausau Ta'a, a Samoan-American actor, best known for his role as Detective Ben Kokua on television series Hawaii Five-O and as Mamo Kahike on its 2010 reboot
  • Edward Harrington (1935-2018), known by his stage name Eddy Clearwater, an American blues musician
  • Charles Michael "Mickey" Harrington (1934-2017), American Major League Baseball player who played one game for the Philadelphia Phillies in 1963
  • William P. Harrington, American Republican politician, Candidate for Michigan State House of Representatives from Wayne County 12th District, 1962; Candidate for U.S. Representative from Michigan 17th District, 1964, 1966 14
  • ... (Another 129 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)
HMAS Sydney II
  • Mr. Albert Frederick Harrington (1918-1941), Australian Acting Leading Seaman from Victoria Park, Western Australia, Australia, who sailed into battle aboard HMAS Sydney II and died in the sinking 15
  • Timothy Harrington (d. 1945), British Stoker 1st Class aboard the HMS Dorsetshire when she was struck by air bombers and sunk; he died in the sinking 16
  • Kenneth Harrington, British Boy Telegraphist with the Royal Navy aboard the HMS Royal Oak (1939) when she was torpedoed by U-47 and sunk; he survived the sinking 17
  • Mr. Charles Henry Harrington (d. 1912), aged 37, American First Class passenger from Washington, D.C. who sailed aboard the RMS Titanic and died in the sinking 18
  • Mr. Keith Homer Harrington, American Seaman First Class from Missouri, USA working aboard the ship "USS Arizona" when she sunk during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on 7th December 1941, he died in the sinking 19

Suggested Readings for the name Harrington +

  • Harrington-Heath Heritage: Ancestors and Descendants (1600-1984) of Oramel Warren Harrington and Martha C. Heath by Ruth Haddox Harrington.
  • The Ancestry of Marie Louise Harrington and Her Bagley Descendants by David Harrington Bagley.
  1. MacLysaght, Edward, Irish Families Their Names, Arms and Origins 4th Edition. Dublin: Irish Academic, 1982. Print. (ISBN 0-7165-2364-7)
  2. "What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
  3. "Most Common Last Names in Australia." Forebears, https://forebears.io/australia/surnames
  4. "Most Common Last Names in New Zealand." Forebears, https://forebears.io/new-zealand/surnames
  5. "UK surname ranking." UK Surname map, https://www.surnamemap.eu/unitedkingdom/surnames_ranking.php?p=10
  6. 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)
  7. Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 9th December 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/canada
  8. Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 14th July 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/atlas
  9. State Library of Queensland. (Retrieved 2016, October 27) Asia 1 voyage to Van Diemen's Land, Australia in 1820 with 192 passengers. Retrieved from http://www.convictrecords.com.au/ships/asia/1820
  10. Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 12th July 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/dorothy
  11. Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 3rd November 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/brothers
  12. New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 17th October 2018). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
  13. New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 26th March 2019). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
  14. The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, November 2) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
  15. HMAS Sydney II, Finding Sydney Foundation - Roll of Honour. (Retrieved 2014, April 24) . Retrieved from http://www.findingsydney.com/roll.asp
  16. Force Z Survivors HMS Dorsetshire Crew List, (Retrieved 2018, February 13th), https://www.forcez-survivors.org.uk/biographies/listdorsetshirecrew.html
  17. Ships hit by U-boats crew list HMS Royal Oak (08) - (Retrieved 2018 February, 9th) - retrieved from https://uboat.net/allies/merchants/crews/ship68.html
  18. Titanic Passenger List - Titanic Facts. (Retrieved 2016, July 13) . Retrieved from http://www.titanicfacts.net/titanic-passenger-list.html
  19. Pearl Harbour: USS Arizona Casualties List Pearl Harbour December 7, 1941. (Retrieved 2018, July 31st). Retrieved from http://pearl-harbor.com/arizona/casualtylist.html

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