This interesting surname is of Anglo-Saxon origin, and is a locational name from any of the places so called; in Lancashire, recorded as "Worthinton", in the Curia Rolls of 1210, and in Leicestershire, which appeared as "Werditone" in the Domesday Book of 1086. The derivation for both places is the same, that is, from the Olde English pre 7th Century byname "Wureth", Worthy, or "worthign", a derivative of "worth", enclosure, and the Olde English "-tun", settlement. During the Middle Ages, when migration for the purpose of job-seeking was becoming more common, people often used their former village name as a means of identification, resulting in a wide dispersal of the name. The surname is first recorded in the late 12th Century (see below), while other early examples include William de Wurthington, recorded in the Assize Court Rolls of Lancashire in 1246, and John Worthyngton, mentioned in the "Calendar of Inquisitiones Post Mortem" of Nottinghamshire in 1439. Agnes, daughter of Hugh Worthington, was christened on April 16th 1560, at Wilmslow, Cheshire. A Coat of Arms granted to a family of the name depicts on a silver shield three black dungforks. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Snarri de Wurethintona, which was dated 1169, in the "Pipe Rolls of Lincolnshire", during the reign of King Henry 11, known as "The Builder of Churches", 1154 - 1189. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.

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