An English surname and place name meaning settlement associated with a person or family called Earna or similar.
Arrington is an English surname-turned-given-name with roots in Old English place-name geography. It derives from a settlement called Arrington in Cambridgeshire, England, which appears in historical records as *Erningtone* or *Earningtun* — a compound of the Old English personal name *Earn* or *Earna* (meaning 'eagle') and *tun* (meaning 'settlement' or 'enclosure'). It thus carries the meaning of something like 'eagle's settlement' or 'the village of Earn's people,' connecting the bearer to a very specific piece of English land history.
As with many English toponymic surnames, Arrington migrated to the American colonies with English settlers and became a family name across the South and Mid-Atlantic states. The surname has been borne by several notable American figures, including athletes and musicians, and it belongs to the tradition of surnames — especially those with the Anglo-Saxon '-ington' ending — being adopted as first names, a practice with deep American cultural roots. Names like Arlington, Remington, Lexington, and Arrington follow the same pattern: they evoke a certain aristocratic English place-name gravitas while feeling thoroughly American in usage.
As a given name in contemporary use, Arrington occupies appealing territory: it is immediately readable and phonetically comfortable, with a pleasing three-syllable rhythm and a strong, open vowel center. It reads as both surname-cool and nameplate-worthy — the kind of name that sounds equally natural on a birth certificate and in a boardroom. Parents choosing Arrington often prize its combination of historical depth and understated originality.
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