BENHAM
The Benham surname is of English origin, emerging within the British Isles. It is typically understood as a locative name, indicating a person who lived at or near a particular place. The root of the name combines the Old English personal name Benna with the element ham, a term meaning “homestead”, “enclosure” or, in some contexts, “river-meadow”. Consequently, the surname can be interpreted as “Benna’s homestead” or “the enclosure belonging to Benna”. In Scotland the name is also linked to the place Benholm in the former county of Angus, where the element holm denotes a cultivated area within a marsh or forest.
Historical documentary evidence for the name dates back to the mid‑thirteenth century. The earliest recorded spelling appears as Thomas de Bennum in a 1262 entry in the rolls of the city of Aberdeen, Scotland, during the reign of King Alexander I. Subsequent spellings include Beenham, Beanham, Benham, Bennum, Bineham and Binham. Baptismal records from London show individuals such as Sara Benam, daughter of Henry Benam, christened at St. Giles Cripplegate on 16 February 1583; Thomas Bineham, christened at St. Anne’s Soho, Westminster on 26 November 1607; and John Benham, son of John Benham, baptised at St. Giles Cripplegate on 3 December 1615. Lewis Binham was recorded at St. Dunstans in Stepney on 20 April 1645.
In the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, matter of family records indicates that the Benhams were predominantly farmers. The family crest, featuring two scythes, symbolises their trade as reapers and suggests a long‑standing connection to agricultural life. It is believed that the name may have also arisen as a nickname for a bean farmer, derived from the Old French benne meaning “bean field”, or from the Old English words bene (bean) and ham (land).
During the era of the Norman Conquest in 1066, the Benham family is thought to have established itself in the county of Somerset. From there the name spread across England, Wales and even into Scotland, owing to the mobility of rural families in the medieval period. By the nineteenth century a number of Benhams had emigrated to North America and South Africa, sometimes in search of better prospects or to escape hardships such as the Great Famine in Ireland. For example, Thomas Benham and his family, including daughter Eliza and son Thomas, left Dublin aboard the ship “James of Liverpool” bound for New York on 9 June 1847.
In contemporary times, the surname remains relatively common, particularly within the United Kingdom. While the United States records list Benham as the 10 348th most popular surname, it is especially frequent in California, Texas and North Carolina. The name is also present in Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland and other Anglophone countries. Individuals bearing the name today occupy a broad spectrum of professions, ranging from academia and law to piloting, athletics and the arts, reflecting the continuing diversity of the surname’s legacy.
Variants of the surname include Benam, Bennam, Benhamm, Benhamme, Benamm, Binham, Binam, Beynham, Benhaam, Beinham and Benjam. All these forms share the same Old English derivation and signify a relation, however distant, to the original homestead of Benna or the bean‑field locality. The coat of arms and accompanying Latin mottos—“Tempus Orditur Furor Finem Imponit” and “Dedit Hominibus Tempus Finemque Laboris”—emphasise a balanced view of labour and time, values that resonate with the agrarian heritage of the surname.
Typical given names associated with the Benham surname
Male
- Andrew
- Anthony
- Christopher
- David
- James
- John
- Mark
- Michael
- Paul
- Richard
- Robert
Female
- Amanda
- Claire
- Jane
- Joanne
- Julie
- Karen
- Laura
- Margaret
- Michelle
- Sarah
- Susan
- Victoria
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 Benham in...
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There are approximately 3,255 people named Benham in the UK. That makes it roughly the 2,794th most common surname in Britain. Around 50 in a million people in Britain are named Benham.
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 Benham
- Joan Benham - Actress (1918 to 1981)
- William Gurney Benham - Newspaper editor (1859 to 1944)
- Charles Benham - Journalist (1860 to 1929)
- Chris Benham - Cricketer
- John Benham - (1900 to 1990)
- Charles Benham - Scottish cricketer (1880 to 1961)
- William Benham - New Zealand zoologist and biologist (1860 to 1950)
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.