Recorded as Coddington, Codington and Coddrington, this is an English surname. It is locational and originates from either the three villages called Coddington in the counties of Nottingham, Hereford, and Chester or from Coddrington, a lost hamlet in the parish of Wapley near Chipping Sodbury in Wiltshire. All the places have much the same meaning of 'The place of the Cotta tribe' , a pre 7th century English people who were widely recorded, although unlike most Scottish clans, not necessarily closely associated or even associated at all. The modern surname is locational and therefore a 'from' name. That is a name that was given to people usually after they left their original homes to settle somewhere else, as this was the easiest way to identify a stranger. Spelling being at best indifferent, and local accents very thick, often lead to the development of 'sounds like' spellings or as in this case, an overlap between too very similar spellings. The first known recording is believed to be that of William de Codinton of London in the year 1308, whilst five centuries later Sir William Coddrington (1771 - 1831) whose family were from Gloucestershire, was one of the most successful admirals in the Royal Navy. He gave much support to Admiral Nelson.