Recorded as Pennington, and the dialectals Pennrington and Pinnington, this is an English surname. It is of locational origin from any of the places called, Pennington in the counties of Hampshire, Cumberland (near Ulverston) and in the parish of Leigh, Lancashire. The former two, recorded as Penningetun in the Domesday Book of 1086 for the respective counties derive their name from the Olde English pre 7th Century "pening", a penny referring to a tribute due on the land plus "tun", a farm or settlement. The latter recorded as Pinington and Pynington in the Assize Court Rolls of Lancashire in 1246 translates as "the settlement of Pinna's people". The first recorded namebearer (see below) was a soldier who fought in Scotland and for the Lancastrians during the Civil war. He was presented with a cup by King Henry V1, it was known as the "luck of Muncaster" and is still preserved at Muncaster castle. On July 8th 1548, Elin Pennington was christened at Ulverston, and Allan Pennington married Issabell Scale on November 21st 1568, in Hawkshead, Lancashire. One of the earliest settlers in the New World, was William Pennington, aged 18 yrs., who sailed from the port of London, aboard the "Durst", bound for the Bermudas, in September 1635. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Sir John Pennington, which was dated 1470, in the "English Death Registers, during the reign of King Edward 1V, known as "The Self Proclaimed King", 1461 - 1483. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was sometimes 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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