was the coin named after a place or person?
No, it was derived from the Anglo-Saxon "feorthing", a "fourthling" or "fourth part".
Farthing (English coin)
A farthing (derived from the Anglo-Saxon "feorthing", a "fourthling" or "fourth part") 
what is the history of the british farthing? A British coin worth a quarter of an old penny. when did it first come out? 13th century. where was it made? England. what early issue did the coin have? First struck in copper in the early 17th century. who ruled during this period of time? James I of England. Britannia did he ever appear on the coin? Yes, in 1672.
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Farthing (English coin) [SEP] Introduction
A farthing (derived from the Anglo-Saxon "feorthing", a "fourthling" or "fourth part") was a coin of the Kingdom of England worth one quarter of a penny, of a pound sterling. Such coins were first minted in England in silver in the 13th century, and continued to be used until the Kingdom of England was merged into the new Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. Early farthings were silver, but surviving examples are rare. The first copper farthings were issued during the reign of King James I, who gave a licence for minting them to John Harington, 1st Baron Harington of Exton.