The phrase, "The Hamptons", was first used in 1879 in "The Handbook of Summer Travel", but it was never entirely clear which towns were meant to be included.

Speranza

The phrase "The Hamptons" was first used as a marketing term in the 1879 Handbook of Summer Travel, a promotional pamphlet for the then-newly extended Long Island Railroad, but it was never entirely clear exactly which towns were meant to be included.