Man(n)ington, Man(n)aton and Mon(n)ington are rare names originating in different regions of England or Wales. The 1881 census lists 103 Man(n)atons, highly concentrated in Devon (47) and Cornwall (27). There were 122 Man(n)ingtons, mostly in Sussex (46), Kent (30) and Middlesex (22). There were 118 Mon(n)ingtons with the largest number from Hereford (54) and the rest in neighboring counties including Wales (17). The Maningtons/Manatons of Cornwall are documented in the Visitations of Cornwall from the 14th to 18th centuries. The Mon(n)ingtons of Hereford appear in records back to the 15th century. The presence of Man(n)ingtons in Kent and Sussex is documented back to the early 17th century.
The Mannington family from East Sussex has a legend that its origin lies in the well documented and distinguished Manington/Manaton family of Cornwall. Yet the given names in the Sussex family (John, Thomas, Isaac, Matthew...) do not resemble at all those of the Cornwall family (Sampson, Ambrose, Pierce...). They more closely resemble those of the Hereford Monington family.