Washington (name)

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Washington /ˈwɒʃɪŋtən/ is a male given name and a surname. It most frequently refers to George Washington (1732–1799), the first President of the United States of America.

Origin and dissemination

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The name itself is a name of origin and refers to place names in England, such as Washington, Tyne and Wear, from which the ancestors of George Washington are said to have come[citation needed].

The word became a surname in 1183 when William de Hertburn took the name William de Wassyngtona.[1] In 1657 the name came to Virginia; from 1789 to 1797 George Washington was president. Since this time the given name spread throughout the USA as patriotic. In addition to a genealogical origin of the name, it is also (as with Abraham Lincoln and other persons associated with abolition of slavery in America) a favored assumed name of freed slaves and thus a widely spread surname of their progeny in the black population of the USA.

The name appears also as a male given name, often as a second or third name in honor of George Washington.

Family name

Washington
Family name
File:Washington.JPG
Meaning Derived from the English place name
Region of origin England

The surname historically derived from the English place name.

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Given name

Washington as a male given name is derived from the surname. It is particularly popular in the United States and South America, evoking the memory of George Washington.

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See also

References