Sport

• Alan Pennington (1916–1961), British sprinter

• Alfred Pennington (born 1975), English footballer

• Art Pennington (1923–2017), American baseball player

• Brad Pennington (born 1969), American baseball player

• Chad Pennington (born 1976), American footballer

• Cliff Pennington (baseball) (born 1984), Major League Baseball infielder

• Cliff Pennington (ice hockey) (1940–2020), Canadian ice hockey forward

• Cole Pennington, American college football player, son of Chad Pennington

• George Pennington (cricketer) (active 1927), English sportsman

• Hal Pennington (active 1934–1988), American athletics coach

• Harry Pennington (wrestler) (1902–1995), British wrestler

• Harry Pennington (cricketer) (1880–1961), English cricketer

• Harry Pennington (footballer) (1873-?), English footballer

• Jack Pennington (born 1953), American racing car driver

• Jesse Pennington (1883–1970), English footballer

• Jimmy Pennington (born 1939), English footballer

• Joan Pennington (born 1960), American swimmer

• John Pennington (cricketer) (1881–1942), English cricketer

• Kewpie Pennington (1896–1953), American baseball player

• Matthew Pennington (born 1994), English footballer

• Parker Pennington (born 1984), American figure skater

• Raquel Pennington (born 1988), American martial artist

• Rowland Pennington (1870–1929), English footballer

• Terrance Pennington (born 1983), American footballer

• Tom Pennington (1939–2013), American footballer

Politics

• A. A. Pennington (1825–1885), US politician

• Alexander C.M. Pennington (1810–1867), American politician

• Andrew Pennington (1960/61–2000), British politician

• Dennis Pennington (1776–1854), American politician

• Fannie Pennington (1914–2013), American activist

• Frederick Pennington (1819–1914), English merchant and politician

• James W.C. Pennington (1809–1870), African-American religious leader and activist

• John Kenneth Pennington (1927–2011), Priest and politician

• John L. Pennington (1829–1900), fifth governor of Dakota Territory

• John Pennington (politician) (1870–1945), Australian politician

• John Pennington, 1st Baron Muncaster (1740–1813), British peer

• Luther Pennington (1922–2014), American United Methodist pastor and politician

• William George Pennington (fl. 1858–1868), Australian politician

• William Pennington (1796–1862), US politician

• William Sanford Pennington (1757–1826), American politician

Science, engineering, medicine, etc

• Barry Pennington (1923–1968), William Barry Pennington, British mathematician

• Donald Pennington, British psychologist and Vice-chancellor

• E. J. Pennington (1858–1911), American inventor and entrepreneur (airships, motorcycles, and automobiles.)

• Havoc Pennington (born c1976), Robert Sanford Havoc Pennington, US computer engineer

• Hugh Pennington (born 1938), Thomas Hugh Pennington, British bacteriologist and academic

• Isaac Pennington (1745–1817), English physician

• Josias Pennington, Architect of Baldwin & Pennington

• Mark Pennington, British political scientist

• Mary Engle Pennington (1872–1952), American bacteriological chemist and refrigeration engineer

• Winifred Pennington (1915–2007), British biologist

Arts and entertainment

• Ann Pennington (actress) (1893–1971)

• Ann Pennington (model) (born 1950)

• Barbara Pennington (born 1954), American singer

• Basil Pennington (1931–2005), American Catholic priest, religious leader and author

• Bruce Pennington (born 1944), British painter and illustrator

• C. M. Pennington-Richards (1911–2005), British film director

• J.P. Pennington (born 1949), American musician

• James Pennington (born 1965), American musician, also known as Suburban Knight

• Janice Pennington (born 1942), American model

• Joe Pennington (1928–2020), American guitarist, also known as "Joe Penny"

• Jon Penington (1922–1997), British screenwriter

• Marla Pennington (born 1954), American actress

• Michael Pennington (born 1943), Michael Vivian Fyfe Pennington, British actor and director

• Michael Joseph Pennington (born 1970), English actor, also known as Johnny Vegas

• Pennington's Seventeenth Summer, or Pennington's Last Term, a novel by K. M. Peyton

• Ray Pennington, (1933–2020), American singer

• Ty Pennington (born 1964), American TV host

• Zac Pennington (fl. 2002–2013), American musician of the Parenthetical Girls

• Jim Pennington (born 1972), American artist

• William Henry Pennington (1833–1923), English soldier and actor

Miscellaneous

• Alexander Cummings McWhorter Pennington Jr. (1838–1917), American soldier

• Dom Basil Pennington (1931–2005), Cistercian monk

• Bill Pennington (1956), American journalist

• Brooks Pennington Jr. (1925–1996), American businessman

• Dennis Pennington (1776–1854), farmer and a stonemason

• Irene Wells Pennington (1898–2003), American entrepreneur

• Sir John Penington (1584–1646), English sailor

• Sir Joseph Pennington, 2nd Baronet (1677–1744)

• Josslyn Francis Pennington, 5th Baron Muncaster (1834–1917)

• Julie Pennington-Russell (born 1960), American Baptist minister

• Larcena Pennington Page (1837–1913), American pioneer

• Lowther Pennington, 2nd Baron Muncaster (1745–1818)

• Richard Pennington (1947–2017), American police officer

• Robert B. Pennington, American Marine

• Sarah, Lady Pennington (d 1783), an English noblewoman and author

• William Pennington (businessman) (1923–2011), American gambler

• Sir William Pennington, 1st Baronet (1655–1730)

Honorary Mentions

• Gamel de Penitone (or de Peninton) (late 11th–early 12th century) Earliest recorded Pennington ancestor; pre-Norman Conquest landowner in Cumbria (mentioned in Domesday Book as "Pennigetun"). Considered the progenitor of all modern Penningtons; held lands near Ulverston and Muncaster.

• Alan de Penitone (~1208) Received grant of Muncaster lands in 1208 from the Abbey of Furness; foundational figure in the family's noble estate, linking to the Barons Muncaster title.

• Sir John de Pennington (1230–1302) Sheriff of Cumberland (modern Cumbria); medieval knight and landowner who expanded family holdings; served under King Edward I.

• Sir Isaac Pennington (or Penington) (1584–1661) Lord Mayor of London (1642); prominent Puritan politician during the English Civil War; supported Parliament against Charles I and signed Charles I's death warrant.

• Edward Pennington (~19th century) American abolitionist and politician; key figure in the anti-slavery movement; advocated for emancipation and civil rights in the pre-Civil War era.

• John B. Penington (1825–1902) U.S. politician; served as Delaware state senator and assemblyman; involved in post-Civil War reconstruction and education reform. (Variant spelling, but direct family tie to Pennington line.)