Surname Lavington - Meaning and Origin
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Lavington: What does the surname Lavington mean?
The last name ‘Lavington’ has several possible origins. One source suggests that it is a locative name derived from a place-name. Lavington was a settlement in the county of Wiltshire, England, which is recorded as 'Lavingtune' in the 1086 Domesday Book. It is a combination of the Old English words ‘lafa’ and ‘ing’, which both mean ‘clearing in a wood’ or ‘grassland’. It may also be an occupational name, derived from the Old English word ‘lang’, which means ‘long’ and ‘ing’. This would suggest someone working as a ‘long’, a variant of the English word ‘loh’, which refers to a person who was employed to measure length.
Another origin of Lavington is Cornish in origin, and indicates a person who came from the village known as Lavington, near the town of Callington in Cornwall.
In any case, it was an old surname and was established across England by the 13th century. It can be found manifested in multiple records such as the ‘Polltax’ of 1379, church records of Wiltshire and in a legal document known as the ‘Feet of Fines’ of 1310.
Today, people with the Lavington surname can be found all over the world, including in England and countries such as the United States, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand.
Order DNA origin analysisLavington: Where does the name Lavington come from?
The last name Lavington is most common in the United Kingdom, particularly in England and Wales. It is thought to have originated in Somerset and is believed to have been in use since at least the 12th century. In recent times, the name has spread further afield to other parts of the world.
In a 2018 national census of the United Kingdom, the name Lavington was found to be the 15595th most common surname. This was based off a data set of approximately 35 million names. Another surname survey in the same year estimated that there were about 236 people with the surname living in the UK, with 153 occurrences in Wales alone.
In the United States, the last name is not as common as in the UK, recording fewer than 150 occurrences in the 2000 US census. It is likely that most occurrences of the name in America have British roots, and were early immigrants from the UK.
In addition to these countries, smaller populations of people have been recorded with the surname Lavington in Canada, Australia, New Zealand and other countries around the world.
Variations of the surname Lavington
The Lavington surname has several variant spellings including Lavingstone, Lavington, Lavington, Lavingnton, Lavingstone, Lavington, and Lavingdon. It derives from the geographic origins of an area known as Lavington, which is a parish in Wiltshire, England. This area was most likely named after a man with the first name "Lav," with the "ing/ton" suffix indicating town or settlement.
The surname is also located in France, with variants such as La Vingtron, Lavinot, La Vintron and La Vintronne. It is unclear if the origin of the name is a variant based on French translation, or if it originated independently on both sides of the English Channel.
In some records, the Lavington surname may be listed with a prefix such as de or von, suggesting the family may have originated with a noble heritage. Spelling variants of the name may also include Laivinton, Lavingston or Laivingston.
The Lavington surname is also thought to have ties with other family names such as Laverton, Leverton, Leviston, Livinton, Lovitt, Lovitts, Lovington, Lavender, Lavern, Lavery, and Levaughn. It is possible that these family names are derived from the same surname origins as the Lavingtons, through marriage or adoption.
Famous people with the name Lavington
- Lord George Lavington: Baron of Lavington, known in the 18th Century as a a politician and member of the British government.
- William Lavington: Physician and the Lt. Governor of British Honduras from 1804 to 1817.
- William Lavington Comfort: Australian politician, Speaker of the Legislative Assembly in Queensland in the 1870s.
- John Lavington: Prebendary at Salisbury in the 12th Century.
- Dion Lavington: Folk singer and songwriter from England.
- Lawrence Lavington: Politician in the Eastern Region of Nigeria during the 1950s and 60s.
- Roger Lavington: Painter and sculptor based in Connecticut, USA.
- Rebecca Lavington: British postmodernist writer of short stories and novels in the 1980s.
- Chris Lavington: English footballer and manager from the 1970s.
- Sir Alexander Lavington: British soldier and diplomat in the late 16th Century.