How Did Washington Get His Name?

From the Sept. 14, 2008, Chicago Tribune "Whence 'Washington'?" from the Washington Post.

We all know how Washington, S.C. got its name, but how did George get his last name?

To get the answer, you have to go back to 12th Century England.  Around 1180, the Bishop of Durham wanted to add some acreage to his estate so arranged a swap with a knight living there named William of Hertburn in those names before surnames were common.

The land the bishop trade to William was known as Wessynton in Anglo-Saxon.  So, William took the name William took his new name, William of Wessynton.  The name eventually evolved to Washington.

In 1530, a merchant named Lawrence Washington moved his family to the south, settling near Northamptonshire and built a house known as Sulgave.  During the English Civil War, Lawrence's great-granson backed the Royals and had to lay low, but his son, John, decided to try his luck in the New World and immigrated to Virginia, and the rest, as they say, is history.

Today Sulgave Manor and Washington Old Hall, the house of William de Wessynton, are both open to the public and both have U.S. Independence Day celebrations and hoist the American flag.

George's English Roots.  --DaCoot