BASHAM
Basham is a surname of English origin, historically situated in the British Isles. The name derives from Old English, originating as a locational surname indicating residence near a settlement known by that name. As a result, the early bearers of the name were identified with a particular place rather than a family profession or a paternal line.
The most widely accepted etymology links Basham with the Old English personal name Bassa or the possessive form Bassa's ham, meaning “Bassa's homestead.” The suffix ham is a common element in place‑names and denotes a homestead, settlement or enclosure. Thus the surname first identified individuals living in or near a hamlet called Basham that itself was named for a person identified as Bassa. Variants of the name that appear in historical records include Bashan, Bashem and Bashum.
Contemporary evidence shows that the Basham surname is a relatively rare occurrence, found predominantly in the English counties of Oxfordshire and Berkshire. Records of the name in those regions often show a continuity of a small population of individuals bearing the surname well into the modern era. In addition to the Oxfordshire‑Berkshire focus, the name appears at a notable frequency in East Anglia, specifically within Norfolk and Suffolk.
In East Anglia the surname is linked with the towns of Barsham in Norfolk and Bersham in Suffolk; both places are recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 as Barseham and Bersham respectively. The place‑names are believed to originate from the personal name or byname Bar, derived from the Old English word for wild boar, combined with ham for homestead or settlement. The earliest documented use of the family name appears in the “Feet of Fines of Norfolk” dated 1198, where a person named Henry de Barsham is mentioned during the reign of King Richard the Lionheart.
Throughout the late medieval period, the name underwent several orthographic changes, with entries such as Martin Barsham or Bassham (1367, Essex); Robert Bassham (1548, Norfolk); Robert Basshm (1561); Annes Bassam (1563); and William Basem (1625, Suffolk). Marriage records also reference the name, for example the union of William Basham and Awdry Powle in Helhoughton, Norfolk on 29 September 1552. In contemporary usage, the surname may appear under the spellings Barsham, Basham and Bassham, reflecting its varied historical forms.
Typical given names associated with the Basham surname
Male
- Andrew
- Christopher
- David
- John
- Mark
- Matthew
- Michael
- Paul
- Peter
- Richard
Female
- Amanda
- Elizabeth
- Emma
- Julie
- Katherine
- Laura
- Margaret
- Pamela
- Patricia
- Rose
- Rosemary
- Sarah
- Susan
Similar and related surnames
Related and similar names are generated algorithmically based on the spelling, and may not necessarily share an etymology.
How to communicate the surname Basham in...
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There are approximately 1,249 people named Basham in the UK. That makes it roughly the 6,215th most common surname in Britain. Around 19 in a million people in Britain are named Basham.
Surname type: Location or geographical feature
Origin: English
Region of origin: British Isles
Country of origin: England
Religion of origin: Christian
Language of origin: English
Famous people named Basham
- Chris Basham - Football player
- Arthur Llewellyn Basham - Historian and Indologist (1914 to 1986)
- Steve Basham - Football player
- Mike Basham - Association football player
- Johnny Basham - Boxers (1890 to 1947)
- Josh Basham - Rugby union player
Names and descriptions courtesy of Wikipedia, and may contain errors. This is not intended to be an exhaustive list of every famous person with this name.