The Harrington surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 66,959 people carried this name — #500 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 4,410 people counted. That is up 3% from 65,131 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Harrington surname

A habitational surname from Old English from several places of that name in England.

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Harrington» (English), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.

As an English and Welsh surname

Bardsley classes it as a local name, from where the family lived: ‘of Harrington’.

An early record he cites: Ricardus de Heryngton, 1379 — Poll Tax, West Riding of Yorkshire.

From Charles W. Bardsley, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with Special American Instances (London: Henry Frowde, 1901), p. 362 · public domain.

In Ireland’s birth registers, 1890

Ireland registered 119 births for the Harrington name in 1890.

They were registered in all four provinces, most of all in Munster. By the Registrar-General’s own method — births multiplied by 44.38 — that is about 5,300 people bearing the name in Ireland at the time. The Registrar-General’s note on the name: “82 in Cork, 11 in Kerry, and 7 in Mayo.”

Where it concentrates, on the map

Where they were born, 1890

Munster 99
Connacht 12
Leinster 7
Ulster 1

Registrar-General for Ireland, «Special Report on Surnames in Ireland» (R. E. Matheson, 1894), births index of 1890 — public domain.

In Argentina’s national register

At least 172 people named Harrington live in Argentina.

RENAPER only publishes a name in a province when more than ten people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in City of Buenos Aires.

Where it concentrates, on the map

Where they live today

City of Buenos Aires 65
Buenos Aires Province 54
Tierra del Fuego 26
Córdoba 17
San Juan 10

RENAPER (National Registry of Persons, Argentina), surnames of residents by province, December 2021 — CC BY 4.0.

In Switzerland’s population statistics

37 people named Harrington live in Switzerland.

They live in 6 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Vaud.

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they live today

Vaud 13
Zurich 7
Geneva 5
Zug 5
Basel-Stadt 4
Bern 3

Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO), «Surnames of the permanent resident population by canton», 2025, opendata.swiss/en/dataset/nachnamen-der-standigen-wohnbevolkerung-nach-kanton3 · names with fewer than 3 bearers in a canton are not published.

In the Nordic population registers

36 people named Harrington is counted in Sweden.

Sweden’s figure is from 31 December 2022, the last count Statistics Sweden published.

Counted, by country

Sweden (2022) 36

Own calculations based on data from Statistics Sweden (SCB), surnames with at least two bearers, 31 December 2022 — CC BY 4.0 (names with 20 or more bearers shown).

In the first U.S. census, 1790

311 families named Harrington, or a close spelling, were counted in 1790.

Each family is counted by its head. About 1,765 people lived in those households, 5.7 to a family on average. The table counts it together with 4 other spellings. The table lists white heads of families only, in the twelve states whose 1790 records survive; Virginia’s figures come from state lists of 1782–1785.

Families, by state

Massachusetts 108
New York 41
Vermont 39
Rhode Island 28
North Carolina 27
Maryland 24
Connecticut 15
Pennsylvania 10
New Hampshire 7
South Carolina 7
Maine 5

U.S. Census Bureau, «A Century of Population Growth from the First Census of the United States to the Twelfth, 1790–1900» (Washington, 1909), table 111, p. 244 — public domain · names carried by at least 100 white persons in 1790.

In print

Harrington in American newspapers,
1899–1903.

Newspaper page from The Frontier carrying the name Harrington
The Frontier 1903-10-15
Newspaper page from The Frontier carrying the name Harrington
The Frontier 1903-10-01
Newspaper page from The Frontier carrying the name Harrington
The Frontier 1899-11-09

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 503,491 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Harrington in Australian newspapers,
1820s–2000s.

65,184 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Harrington. The most, 10,847, date from the 1900s. New South Wales has the most articles, but weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, the name stands out most in Tasmania, at 1.4 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 18,708
Victoria 15,563
Queensland 12,998
South Australia 7,472
Tasmania 5,786
Western Australia 4,108
ACT (Canberra) 257
Northern Territory 39

Trove, National Library of Australia (trove.nla.gov.au) · articles in its digitised newspapers that name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Harrington.

Who carried it

People named Harrington,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Robert Harrington d. 1399 · politician
  • William Harrington d. 1523 · priest
  • Edward Harrington d. 1757 · physician
  • William Harrington d. 1671 · merchant
  • John Harrington d. 1460
  • Eleanor Harrington d. 1651

Wikidata (CC0) · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Harrington,
in the records of 7 countries.

Soldiers, farmers, migrants and neighbours who carried the name and left a trace in public archives. Everyone shown here died long ago or was born more than a century ago.

United States10,367 records

10,367 records of the Harrington name in the United States
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 2,667
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 2,300
  • Other U.S. records 5,400
  1. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record George W. Harrington

    Born 1930; from Modoc County, California. U.S. Army, light weapons infantryman; killed in action 1951 in North Korea. Buried at San Francisco National Cemetery, California.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Charles L. Harrington

    Born 1916 in North Carolina. Enlisted 1942 at New York City; kitchen worker. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1988, buried at BG William C Doyle Veterans Memorial Cemetery, New Jersey.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  3. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Julia Harrington

    Arrived at New York in 1892 aboard the Germanic from Liverpool and Queenstown, aged 20; servant. From Castletown, Ireland; bound for Buffalo.

    U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)

Showing 3 of 10,367 records for Harrington in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain) · Sacramento County, Historic Burials (CC BY 4.0) · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain) · New York State, Open NY (police and firefighter memorial rolls) · City of Asheville (public domain, PDDL). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Vietnam Veterans Memorial, photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, 2009 (public domain); U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

Australia2,130 records

2,130 records of the Harrington name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 968
  • Tasmanian Names Index 382
  • Other Australian records 780
  1. An 1829 etching of convicts being rowed out to the prison ship York in Portsmouth Harbour
    Pictured: convicts going on board a prison ship, 1829
    Transportation record Martha Harrington

    Transported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Royal Admiral, sailing from London in 1842. Native of Warminster, Wiltshire. Applied for permission to marry in Van Diemen's Land in 1845. Married 1845 in Hobart, Tasmania, aged 30.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  2. An 1829 etching of convicts being rowed out to the prison ship York in Portsmouth Harbour
    Pictured: convicts going on board a prison ship, 1829
    Transportation record Honora Harrington

    Transported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Duke of Cornwall, sailing from Kingston in 1850. Native of Cork. Applied for permission to marry in Van Diemen's Land in 1854. Married 1854 in Hobart, Tasmania, aged 34.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Robert Harrington

    Died 1879 in Hobart, Tasmania, aged 69. Will registered in Tasmania in 1879.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 2,130 records for Harrington in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY) · State Library of Western Australia (CC BY 4.0) · ACT Government, Transport Canberra and City Services (CC BY 4.0) · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Prison-ship in Portsmouth Harbour, with the convicts going on board, etching by Edward William Cooke, 1829, Royal Museums Greenwich (public domain); Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain).

Canada761 records

761 records of the Harrington name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 676
  • Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver 28
  • Other Canadian records 57
  1. The first page of an emigration file from Gündlingen, Baden, 1883
    Example: German emigration file, 1883
    Emigration record Harry Harrington

    Left New York in 1783 aboard the L'Abondence, bound for Port Roseway, aged 40.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.
  2. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Mary Harrington

    Came to Ontario in 1875 aboard the Hibernian, landing at Quebec, bound for Hamilton, Ontario; Irish.

    Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario.
  3. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Margaret Esther Harrington

    Buried in 1973 at Burnsland Cemetery, Calgary, Alberta, aged 69.

    City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary.

Showing 3 of 761 records for Harrington in Canada.

Counts: Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. · City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver. · Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. · Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario. · City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary. · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · Halifax Regional Municipality. Contains information licenced under the Open Government Licence—Halifax. · City of Niagara Falls. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Niagara Falls. · Contains information provided by the City of Waterloo under licence. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Emigration file, Gündlingen, 1883, Landesarchiv Baden-Württemberg, Staatsarchiv Freiburg B 694/1 Nr. 1389 (CC BY 4.0); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0).

New Zealand77 records

77 records of the Harrington name in New Zealand
  • Christchurch City cemetery records 76
  • Waimakariri District cemetery records, Canterbury 1
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Charles Harold Harrington

    Died 1974, aged 85; buried at Bromley Cemetery, Christchurch, Canterbury.

    Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record James Patrick Harrington

    Born 1938, died 1998; ashes interred at Kaiapoi Public Cemetery, Canterbury.

    Waimakariri District Council (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Marguerite Mary Harrington

    Died 1977, aged 80; buried at Memorial Park Cemetery, Christchurch, Canterbury.

    Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 77 records for Harrington in New Zealand.

Counts: Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0) · Waimakariri District Council (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0).

United Kingdom52 records

52 records of the Harrington name in the United Kingdom
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 37
  • St James's burial ground, Euston (London), 1789–1853 14
  • Stirling Council burial records 1
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Samuel Harrington

    Buried in 1907 at Ballengeich Cemetery, Stirling, Scotland, aged 64.

    Stirling Council. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
  2. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record John Harrington

    Buried in 1803 at St James's burial ground, Euston, London, aged 30.

    MOLA and HS2, St James's burial ground data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
  3. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record F. A. Harrington

    Gunner, Royal Field Artillery. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1918.

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)

Showing 3 of 52 records for Harrington in the United Kingdom.

Counts: National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · MOLA and HS2, St James's burial ground data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. · Stirling Council. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0); C. & E. Morton Ltd roll of honour, 1914–1919, photo by Adrian S Pye via Geograph (CC BY-SA 2.0).

Netherlands17 records

17 records of the Harrington name in the Netherlands
  • Dutch church registers before 1811 10
  • Dutch population registers 6
  • Dutch civil registers (births, marriages, deaths) 1
  1. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Thomas Hector Harrington

    Married in 1948 in Valkenswaard.

    Open Archives, Brabants Historisch Informatie Centrum (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Maria Harrington

    Married in 1656 in Nijmegen.

    Open Archives, Regionaal Archief Nijmegen (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the 1910 United States census, Milwaukee
    Example: U.S. census, 1910
    Population register Helena Harrington

    In the population register of Londen, England; "kwekeling", born 1815 in Londen, England.

    Open Archives, West Brabants Archief (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 17 records for Harrington in the Netherlands.

Counts: Open Archives (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain); U.S. census of 1910, Milwaukee (public domain).

France4 records

4 records of the Harrington name in France France's national death register, 1970–2001
  1. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Clive Harrington

    Born 1935 in the United Kingdom; died 1992 in Le Muy (Var).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)
  2. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Margaret Elizabeth Harrington

    Born 1911 in Egypt; died 1994 in Créteil (Val-de-Marne).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)

Showing 2 of 4 records for Harrington in France.

Counts: Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Death register of Nice, 1930, Archives départementales des Alpes-Maritimes (public domain).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Harrington.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Harrington is.
A volume says what happened to it.

Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.

See the Harrington volume
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