Origin
HAM : Local. A house, borough, or village, the termination of many names of places in England; German, heim, a home; France.
ADLAM : (Saxon) Local. From adel, fine, noble, and ham, a village or castle. Adelham, contracted to Adlam.
AMHERST : (Saxon) Local. From ham, a town or village, and hurst or herst, a wood, the town in the wood, the H by custom, being dropped or silent. It may have been derived from Hamo, who was sheriff in the county of Kent, in the time of William the Conqueror; a descendant of his was called Hamo de Herst, and the Norman de, and the aspirate h being dropped Amherst. Amhurst, the connected grove, or conjoined woods; am, in the British, as a prefix, has the sense of Amb, amphi, circum, i.e., about, surrounding, encompassing; hence, the surrounding grove, or Amhurst.
BINGHAM : Local. From the town of Bingham, in Nottinghamshire, so named from the Danish Bing, a place where provisions were deposited; and ham, a town or village. Bingham, a depository for grain; a place tilled, inhabited.
BUCKINGHAM : (Sax.) Local. A shire and town in England, and so called either from Bucen, beechen, and ham, a village, from the abundance of beech-trees growing there, or from the Saxon bucca, deer the deer-village.
BURNHAM : Local. Derived from Burnham, a town in Norfolk, also in Essex, England; in the old English, Bourn or Burn, signifies a river, and ham, a village or town the village by the river. Bourn, burn, and bern, in the Cornish-British, is a hill, a heap; and Burnham, the house or town on the rising ground.
CHATHAM : Local. From a town in Kent, England, on the Medway, so named from the Saxon cyte, a cottage, and ham, a village, signifying the village of cottages. A paragraph to the following effect went the round of the papers not many years since: Two attorneys in partnership had the name of the firm, Catcham and Chetum, inscribed, in the usual manner, upon their office-door; but as the singularity and ominous juxta-position of the words led to many a coarse joke from passers-by, the men of law attempted to destroy, in part, the effect of the odd association, by the insertion of the initials of their Christian names, which happened to be Isaiah and Uriah; but this made the affair ten times worse, for the inscription then ran: I. Catchman and U. Chetum !”
CHETHAM : Local. From a town in Kent, England, on the Medway, so named from the Saxon cyte, a cottage, and ham, a village, signifying the village of cottages. A paragraph to the following effect went the round of the papers not many years since: Two attorneys in partnership had the name of the firm, Catcham and Chetum, inscribed, in the usual manner, upon their office-door; but as the singularity and ominous juxta-position of the words led to many a coarse joke from passers-by, the men of law attempted to destroy, in part, the effect of the odd association, by the insertion of the initials of their Christian names, which happened to be Isaiah and Uriah; but this made the affair ten times worse, for the inscription then ran: I. Catchman and U. Chetum !”
CUNNINGHAM : Local. A district in Ayrshire, Scotland. The name signifies the dwelling of the chief or king, from the Saxon, cyning, Dutch, koning, a leader or chief, and ham, a house or town.
DILLINGHAM : (Saxon) Local. A place in the county of Cambridge, England; the town of the market; the buying and selling place; of paying out or telling money. Saxon, Daelan, to divide, separate, throw off pay over; and ham, a village.
DUNHAM : Local. A small village in England, so called from duty a hill, and ham, a village.
ESHAM : Local. From a town by that name in Worcestershire, England, formerly Eoves-ham, so called from one Eoves Egwins, a shepherd, who was afterward Bishop of Worcester, and ham, a village.
FARNHAM : Local. From a town in Surrey, England, so called from the Saxon Fearn, fern, and ham, a habitation or village the village in the place overgrown with fern
HALLAM : From Hall, Welsh, salt, and ham, a house or village, from its manufacture in that place, or being situated near the salt water. It may be derived from Hal or Hayle, a moor, and ham, the house on the moor. Halham, the house on the hill, from Hal, Cornish British, a hill.
HAMLIN : Local. A corruption of Hammeline, which was taken from Hamelen, a town on the river Weser, Germany. Hamelin, a town in Scotland, so called from Ham, a house or village, and lin, a waterfall, a small lake or pond.
HANHAM : (Welsh.) Hen, old, and Saxon, ham, a town; that is, the old town.
HOTHAM : Assumed from the place of residence, Hotham in Yorkshire, probably derived from the Saxon word Hod, a hood or covering, and ham, a house, farm, or village, or a piece of ground near a house or village, both of which terms are applicable to the situation of Hotham. Houtham signifies a place at or near a wood, from the Dutch Hout, a wood.
KILHAM : Local. A town in England, from Kil, as above, and ham, a house or town.
KIRKHAM : Local. From Kirk, a church, and ham, a village. The name of a small town in England, whence the surname originated.
NEEDHAM : Local. From Needham, a market-town in Suffolk, England the village of cattle; Sax., neat, Danish, nod, a herd, and ham, a village. In another sense it may denote the clean, fair town.
NOTTINGHAM : Local. From the borough town of Nottingham, in England. Bailey says the name is corrupted from Snottingham, from the Saxon Snottenga, caves, and ham, a village, from the many caves and places of security found in that county.
OAKHAM : Local. From the town of Oakham, in Rutlandshire, England, so called from Oak, and ham, the village by the oaks.
OCKHAM : Local. From ock or ac, an oak, and ham, a,village, a town in Surrey, England, so called from the abundance of oaks growing there.
PELHAM : Local. From the lordship of Pelham, in Hertfordshire, England, either from peele, a tower, castle, or from pool, a small lake, and ham, a village.
PUTNAM : (Dutch.) From Put or Putten, a well, and ham, a house or town. Welltown, or the house by the well.
Origin of name provided by Jean Tosti
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