Barrington — Irish Surname Origin & Meaning
Irish form: not applicable; English toponymic origin
Meaning: from an English place name
Traditional stronghold: Limerick
Pronunciation: BAR-ing-ton
History of the Barrington name
Barrington is an English toponymic surname established in Ireland by a family who settled in Limerick in the 17th century and became prominent in law, medicine and philanthropy in the city, founding Barrington's Hospital in Limerick. The name is best remembered through an 18th and early 19th-century Irish judge and memoirist whose colourful, gossip-filled recollections of the Irish legal and political world of his time remain a widely cited source for the period.
Variants: Barington · Barrinton
Famous bearers of the name
- Sir Jonah Barrington — Irish judge and memoirist, author of Personal Sketches of His Own Times
Related names from the same part of Ireland: O'Brien · Ryan · Collins · Fitzgerald · Hayes · Sheehan · O'Riordan · O'Donovan