Ellington History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Ellington is a name that was brought to England by the ancestors of the Ellington family when they migrated to the region after the Norman Conquest in 1066. The Ellington family lived in Lincolnshire, at the Manor of Elkington, near Louth.

Early Origins of the Ellington family

The surname Ellington was first found in Lincolnshire at either North Elkington or South Elkington, parishes in the union of Louth, Wold division of the hundred of Louth-Eske. Both parishes were originally one and were recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 as Alchinton. [1]Hence the name is conjecturally descended from William de Percy who held his lands from Ivo Tailbois, a tenant in chief. At that time the village of Elkington (Alchinton) consisted of one church, one chapel, a mill and a mill site. Elkington is also a deserted medieval village and civil parish in the Daventry district of the county of Northamptonshire. Listed in 1377 as having 30 households, by 1412 there was none.

Early History of the Ellington family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Ellington research.

Ellington Spelling Variations

Spelling variations in names were a common occurrence in the eras before English spelling was standardized a few hundred years ago. In the Middle Ages, even the literate regularly changed the spellings of their names as the English language incorporated elements of French, Latin, and other European languages. Many variations of the name Ellington have been found, including Elkinton, Alkington, Elchington and others.

Ellington Ranking

In the United States, the name Ellington is the 2,624^th most popular surname with an estimated 12,435 people with that name. [2]

 Ellington migration to the United States +

For many English families, the social climate in England was oppressive and lacked opportunity for change. For such families, the shores of Ireland, Australia, and the New World beckoned. They left their homeland at great expense in ships that were overcrowded and full of disease. Many arrived after the long voyage sick, starving, and without a penny. But even those were greeted with greater opportunity than they could have experienced back home. Numerous English settlers who arrived in the United States and Canada at this time went on to make important contributions to the developing cultures of those countries. Many of those families went on to make significant contributions to the rapidly developing colonies in which they settled. Early North American records indicate many people bearing the name Ellington were among those contributors: 

Ellington Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

• John Ellington, who arrived in Virginia in 1717 [3]
• Edward Ellington, who landed in Georgia in 1767 [3]

 Ellington migration to Australia+

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include: 

Ellington Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

• Mr. William Ellington, British convict who was convicted in Leicester, Leicestershire, England for 7 years, transported aboard the “Competitor”18th March 1823, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen’s Land) [4]
• William Ellington, English convict from Leicester, who was transported aboard the “Agincourt” on July 6, 1844, settling in Van Diemen’s Land, Australia [5]

Contemporary Notables of the name Ellington (post 1700) +

• Edward Kennedy “Duke” Ellington (1899-1974), American jazz musician largely recognized as one of the greatest figures in the history of jazz and awarded a special citation in 2008 by the Pulitzer Prize jury, recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom
• Marc Floyd Ellington OStJ DL HonFRIAS (1945-2021), American-born, Scottish folk and folk-rock singer-songwriter, guitarist and bagpiper
• Hoss Ellington (1935-2014), American NASCAR driver and team owner
• Mercer Ellington (1919-1996), American composer, trumpeter, and bandleader
• Dougles D. Ellington (1886-1960), American architect who is noted for his work in the Art Deco style
• Buford Ellington (1907-1972), American politician, Governor of Tennessee from 1959 to 1963 and again from 1967 until 1971
• Marshal Sir Edward Leonard Ellington GCB, CMG, CBE (1877-1967), British senior officer in the Royal Air Force; he served as Chief of the Air Staff from 1933 to 1937, then as Inspector General of the RAF until his retirement in 1940
• Edward Bayzard Ellington (1845-1914), British hydraulic engineer, invented the hydraulic balance elevator
• Richard Ellington Hawes, United States naval officer, eponym of USS Hawes (FFG-53)
• Ellington “Fugi” Jordan (1940-2020), American soul and funk songwriter and record producer, co-writer of the blues song, “I’d Rather Go Blind”