Everything you need to know about the Irish surname Harrington.
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The Harrington clan
Irish derivation:
Ó hArrachtáin, Ó hIongardail, later Ó hUrdáil, Ó hOireachtaigh
Name meaning:
"Descendant of Arrachtán," meaning "mighty" or "powerful".
Counties associated with the name Harrington:
Coat of arms motto:
"Nodo firmo", meaning a tight knot
A short history of the name Harrington:
The name Harrington, in Ireland, was adopted as an Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó hArrachtáin "descendant of Arrachtán", a personal name from a diminutive of arrachtach meaning "mighty" or "powerful".
In County Kerry, Harrington was adopted as an Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó hIongardail, later Ó hUrdáil, meaning "descendant of Iongardal".
Harrington was also used in Irish as a reduced Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó hOireachtaigh "descendant of Oireachtach" a byname meaning "member of the assembly" or "frequenting assemblies".
Interesting facts about the name Harrington:
Typically when the name is spelled as "Herrington" it is presumed to be a name of non-Irish origin.
Some famous Harringtons:
- Leland Kitteridge "Hago" Harrington (1903-1959, former Hockey Player)
- Betty Jean Maycock Harrington (1942-, former US Olympic Gymnast)
- Wilfrid Harrington (1927-, Irish Dominican Priest)
- Richard Harrington (1975-, Welsh Actor)
- John Harrington (c. late 1930s, former CEO of the Boston Red Sox)
- Padraig Harrington (1971-, professional Irish golfer).
Looking for more on your Irish surname? Visit our Irish clans and surnames page here.
* Originally published in 2016. Updated in September 2024.
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