Rimington History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

Early Origins of the Rimington family

The surname Rimington was first found in Yorkshire at Rimington (Rimmington), a township, in the parish of Gisburn, union of Clitheroe, W. division of the wapentake of Staincliffe and Ewcross. 1

The village dates back to the Domesday Book of 1086 where it was first listed as Renitone 2 and literally meant "farmstead on the boundary stream," having derived from the Old English words "rima" + -ing" + "tun. 3

The first record of the family was found in 1219 as Goda de Rimington who was listed in the Assize Rolls of Yorkshire at that time. Years later, Henry de Rymington was listed in the Subsidy Rolls of Yorkshire in 1297 and Matilda Rymyngton, de Remymgton was listed in the Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379. 4 The same rolls also listed Robertus de Rymngton in 1379. 5

William Remington or Rimston (fl. 1372), was an English theological writer, a Cistercian monk of Salley, Yorkshire, and graduated doctor of theology at Oxford. He was Chancellor of Oxford in 1372. 6

Early History of the Rimington family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Rimington research. Another 89 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1086, 1372 and 1500 are included under the topic Early Rimington History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Rimington Spelling Variations

Sound was what guided spelling in the essentially pre-literate Middle Ages, so one person's name was often recorded under several variations during a single lifetime. Also, before the advent of the printing press and the first dictionaries, the English language was not standardized. Therefore, spelling variations were common, even among the names of the most literate people. Known variations of the Rimington family name include Remington, Remmington, Rimington, Rimmington and others.

Early Notables of the Rimington family

More information is included under the topic Early Rimington Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Rimington migration to the United States +

For political, religious, and economic reasons, thousands of English families boarded ships for Ireland, Canada, the America colonies, and many of smaller tropical colonies in the hope of finding better lives abroad. Although the passage on the cramped, dank ships caused many to arrive in the New World diseased and starving, those families that survived the trip often went on to make valuable contributions to those new societies to which they arrived. Early immigrants bearing the Rimington surname or a spelling variation of the name include:

Rimington Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

William Rimington, who landed in Virginia in 1714 7
Robert Rimington, who arrived in Virginia in 1719 7

Contemporary Notables of the name Rimington (post 1700) +

Dave Rimington (b. 1960), American football player
Sammy "Sammy" Rimington (b. 1942), English jazz musician
Dame Stella Rimington DCB (b. 1935), Director General of MI5 from 1992–1996
Claude Rimington (1903-1993), British biochemist who's 1968 paper suggested that King George III had inherited his abnormality that caused his bouts of insanity

Citations +

Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. Print
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)