Survey of English Place-Names

Historical Forms

• Darni(n)tone 1086 DB

• Dernington 1307 Ch

• Dardinton(a), Dardintun(a) c.1090,1122 Pont 1148 YCh1486 1155–8 YCh179 Hy2 1230 Ch 1193 P 1229 Ebor

• Darditona 1122 Pont

• Dardington(a) 1135–42etfreqto1235 Pont 1251 FF 1286 Ebor

• Dardinctun(a) 1155–70 YCh 1173 ib

• Dardigtuna 1156 ib

• Dardhinton' 1208 FF

• Darthin(g)ton(a), Darthyngton(a) c.1170 Kirkst 1204 FF 1226 1282 Ebor 1290 Baild 1293 Kirkst 1445 Bodl142a

• Derthington, Derthyngton 1364 Kirkst 1379 PT 1402 FA 1410 Pat 1495 Ipm

• Derlingtone 1279–81 QW

• Darlyngton 14 Sawl194

• Darington', Daryngton' 1243 Fees 1270–80 Bodl23 1495 Ipm 1615 FF

• Darrington(e) 1558 WillY 1612 NCWills 1638 SessnR

Etymology

Almost all spellings in Darn -, Dard -, Darth - up to the fourteenth century point to a late OE  Dearðing -, Darðingtūn , apart from the occasional Derth - (from 1364). Moorman 57 derives the name from OE  Dēornōðingtūn 'Dēornōð's farmstead' (v. -ing 4 , tūn ), and Karl- ström 91 supposes that the early Darth -, Darn - spellings are either AN (cf. Barnby Dun i, 17supra ) or are 'a reflection of the development of ONb  ēa (= WSax  eo ) into ǣ (later a ) in front of r ', cf. Luick § 357, n. 4. Darlington (Du 60), Dearthingtun 1002–16 YCh 923, Dearningtun c. 1130 SD, appears to be a parallel, though medieval Dar - spellings are far less common. In the case of Darrington, Ekwall meets the difficulty by supposing the ultimate base of the first el. is the OE  pers.n. Dægheard (presumably reduced to Dærd -), but the Darn - spellings, and those in Darl - which are due to AN influence (Zachrisson, ANInfl 138 ff), presuppose an -n - in the OE form. On the whole, the better interpretation seems to be 'farmstead associated with Dēornōð'.