Show ContentsMillington History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The present generation of the Millington family is only the most recent to bear a name that dates back to the ancient Anglo-Saxon culture of Britain. Their name comes from having lived in either of the settlements named Millington in Cheshire and the East Riding of Yorkshire, or at any farm with a mill. The surname Millington belongs to both the category of habitation names, which are derived from pre-existing names for towns, villages, parishes, or farmsteads, and the class of topographic surnames, which were given to people who resided near physical features such as hills, streams, churches, or types of trees.

Early Origins of the Millington family

The surname Millington was first found in Cheshire at Millington, a civil parish or at Millington, a small village and civil parish in the East Riding of Yorkshire. Both were listed in the Domesday Book of 1086. The Cheshire parish was listed as Mulintune and at that time was held by William Malbank. Rather small, it had land enough for one plough. However the Yorkshire listings were spelt Mileton, Milleton and Milletone and each had their own entry. 1 These have evolved into the modern day places of Millington Woods, Millington Pastures and Millington Springs. The place name literally means "farmstead with a mill" having derived from the Old English myln + tun. 2

Early History of the Millington family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Millington research. Another 89 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1598, 1628, 1666 and 1703 are included under the topic Early Millington History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Millington 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 Millington include Millington, Milington, Mellington and others.

Early Notables of the Millington family

Distinguished members of the family include

  • Gilbert Millington (ca. 1598-1666) English barrister, one of the Regicides of King Charles I of England, after the Restoration, he was sentenced to death, but was later commuted to life imprisonment
  • Sir Thomas Millington FRS (1628-1703), the son of Thomas Millington, was an English physician, eulogized by Samuel Garth under the name of Machaon in his poem "The Dispensary."

Millington Ranking

In the United States, the name Millington is the 13,216th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 3 However, in the United Kingdom, the name Millington is ranked the 994th most popular surname with an estimated 6,982 people with that name. 4


Millington 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 Millington were among these contributors, for they have been located in early North American records:

Millington Settlers in United States in the 17th Century
  • Joan Millington and her husband, who settled in Virginia in 1650
  • Joan Millington, who arrived in Virginia in 1650 5
  • Samuel Millington, who arrived in Maryland in 1661 5
  • Oliver Millington, who arrived in Maryland in 1670 5
Millington Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • John W Millington, who landed in New York in 1831 5
  • George H Millington, who landed in New York, NY in 1849 5

Millington migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Millington Settlers in Australia in the 18th Century
Millington Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century
  • Mr. Charles Millington, English convict who was convicted in Surrey, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Claudine" on 20th May 1821, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 7
  • Mr. William Millington, English convict who was convicted in Warwick, Warwickshire, England for life, transported aboard the "Chapman" on 6th April 1824, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 8
  • William Millington, English convict from Warwick, who was transported aboard the "Albion" on May 29, 1828, settling in New South Wales, Australia 9
  • Mr. Thomas Millington, British convict who was convicted in Warwick, Warwickshire, England for life, transported aboard the "England" on 6th June 1835, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 10
  • Mr. William Millington, English convict who was convicted in (Kesteven), Lincolnshire, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Elphinstone" on 27th May 1837, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 11
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Millington 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:

Millington Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century
  • Miss Florance Millington, (b. 1863), aged 8 months, British settler travelling from London aboard the ship "David G. Fleming" arriving in Lyttelton, Canterbury, New Zealand on 9th December 1863 12
  • Mr. William Millington, (b. 1837), aged 26, British painter travelling from London aboard the ship "David G. Fleming" arriving in Lyttelton, Canterbury, New Zealand on 9th December 1863 12
  • Mrs. Harriet Millington, (b. 1841), aged 22, British settler travelling from London aboard the ship "David G. Fleming" arriving in Lyttelton, Canterbury, New Zealand on 9th December 1863 12
  • Simon Millington a bricklayer, who arrived in Otago aboard the ship "City of Dunedin" in 1871 13
  • Rosanna Millington, who arrived in Otago aboard the ship "City of Dunedin" in 1871 13
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Millington migration to West Indies +

The British first settled the British West Indies around 1604. They made many attempts but failed in some to establish settlements on the Islands including Saint Lucia and Grenada. By 1627 they had managed to establish settlements on St. Kitts (St. Christopher) and Barbados, but by 1641 the Spanish had moved in and destroyed some of these including those at Providence Island. The British continued to expand the settlements including setting the First Federation in the British West Indies by 1674; some of the islands include Barbados, Bermuda, Cayman Island, Turks and Caicos, Jamaica and Belize then known as British Honduras. By the 1960's many of the islands became independent after the West Indies Federation which existed from 1958 to 1962 failed due to internal political conflicts. After this a number of Eastern Caribbean islands formed a free association. 14
Millington Settlers in West Indies in the 17th Century
  • Rowland Millington, who settled in St. Christopher (Saint Kitts) in 1635
  • Rowland Millington, aged 24, who landed in St Christopher in 1635 5
  • Mr. Rowland Millington, (b. 1611), aged 24, British settler traveling aboard the ship "Matthew" arriving in St Christopher (Saint Kitts) in 1635 15
  • John Millington was a servant and settled in Barbados in 1680

Contemporary Notables of the name Millington (post 1700) +

  • June Millington (b. 1948), Philippine American guitarist
  • Stephen R. Millington, American politician, Member of New York State Assembly from Herkimer County 1st District, 1860 16
  • Michael T. Millington, American Democratic Party politician, Alternate Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Pennsylvania, 1972 16
  • Helene Millington, American politician, Socialist Workers Candidate for Presidential Elector for Michigan, 1984, 1988 16
  • Fred P. Millington, American politician, Prohibition Candidate for U.S. Representative from Pennsylvania 15th District, 1940 16
  • Daniel Azro Millington (1823-1891), American politician, Mayor of Winfield, Kansas, 1875-76 16
  • Charles Stephen Millington (1855-1913), American Republican politician, Delegate to Republican National Convention from New York, 1908; U.S. Representative from New York 27th District, 1909-11; Defeated, 1910 16
  • Brian K. Millington, American Democratic Party politician, Candidate in primary for Delegate to Michigan State Constitutional Convention from Oakland County 4th District, 1961 16
  • Charles John Henry "Charlie" Millington (1884-1955), English professional footballer
  • Harry Millington, English former professional rugby league footballer
  • ... (Another 14 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)


  1. Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
  2. Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
  3. "What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
  4. "UK surname ranking." UK Surname map, https://www.surnamemap.eu/unitedkingdom/surnames_ranking.php?p=10
  5. 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)
  6. Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 29th September 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/barwell
  7. Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 17th February 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/claudine
  8. Convict Records of Australia. Retreived 26th January 2021 from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/chapman
  9. State Library of Queensland. (Retrieved 2014, November 24) Albion voyage to New South Wales, Australia in 1828 with 192 passengers. Retrieved from http://www.convictrecords.com.au/ships/albion/1828
  10. Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 28th April 2022). https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/england
  11. Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 18th March 2022). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/elphinstone
  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 9th November 2011). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
  14. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies
  15. Pilgrim Ship's of 1600's (Retrieved October 4th 2021 from https://www.packrat-pro.com/ships/shiplist.htm
  16. The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2016, January 12) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html


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