Recorded as Carrington and the dialectals Kerrington and Currington, this famous and noble surname, the family name of the Barons Carrington, is Anglo-Scottish and locational. It originates from either Carrington in the English counties of Cheshire and Lincolnshire, or sometimes from the estate known as "The lands of Carrington" in the county of East Lothian, in Scotland. In all cases the derivation is from the pre 7th century Old English word 'carr', meaning a rock, but probably used originally as a personal name, with the suffix '-ing" meaning the people of , and '-ton', a farm or settlement, to give the settlement of the people called Rock, or the tribe at the village on the rock. The surname from both the English and Scottish sources is first recorded in the late 13th century, an early example taken from surviving rolls and registers being that of Wautier de Keringtone, the parson of Dunnotre Church, Scotland, who rendered homage to the government of the country called The Interegnnum in the year 1296. Another interesting namebearer was Richard Carrington (1826 - 1875), astronomer and observer to Durham University. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of John de Carrington. This was dated 1294, in the records of the Assize Court of Cheshire, England, during the reign of King Edward 1st of England, 1272 - 1307. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.

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