BINGHAM
Bingham is an English surname of both locational and patronymic origin. The name evolves from the Old English personal name Binga or Bing, which was a short form of compound names starting with Bing- such as Bingheard or Bingwine. In this context the surname means “the son of Binga” or “the descendant of Binga”. At the same time, Bingham is also a locational surname deriving from the medieval village of Bingham, now a parish in the city of Nottingham.
Evidence of the surname dates back to the Domesday Book of 1086 where the village name appears as Binggheham, and in 1165 as Bingeham. By 1175 the first recorded personal use of the surname was in the Pipe Rolls of Nottingham, where a man named William de Bingeham is noted. The name continued to appear in historical records, including a reference to William de Bingham of Lincoln in 1257 and to William Byngham in the Assize Register of Nottingham in 1433.
The locational element of the name is further explained by its etymology. The initial part bingr comes from a pre‑7th‑century Norse‑Viking word meaning “a mound” or “a burial mound”, while the suffix ham is an Old English word for a homestead or farm. Thus the place name, and consequently the surname, originally signified a farm situated by a mound.
In England Bingham is a fairly common surname. Through migration and colonisation it has also spread to other English‑speaking countries, where it remains recognised as a distinct family name.
Notable bearers of the surname include George Charles Bingham, the third Earl of Lucan (1800–1888), who served as commander of the cavalry at the Battle of Balaclava and was Member of Parliament for County Mayo in Ireland from 1826 to 1830. A branch of his family lent its name to Binghamstown in County Mayo. Earlier distinguished references are to a lord of the manor, represented by William de Bingham, and to the early municipal record of William Byngham of Nottingham.
Typical given names associated with the Bingham surname
Male
- Andrew
- Christopher
- David
- James
- John
- Mark
- Michael
- Paul
- Richard
- Robert
- Stephen
- William
Female
- Catherine
- Claire
- Elizabeth
- Emma
- Helen
- Margaret
- Mary
- Nicola
- Patricia
- 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 Bingham in...
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There are approximately 9,628 people named Bingham in the UK. That makes it the 962nd most common surname in Britain. Around 148 in a million people in Britain are named Bingham.
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 Bingham
- John Bingham, 7th Earl of Lucan - Peer and missing murder suspect
- Stuart Bingham - Snooker player
- George Bingham, 8th Earl of Lucan - Hereditary peer
- Tom Bingham, Baron Bingham of Cornhill - Judge (1933 to 2010)
- John Bingham, 7th Baron Clanmorris - Novelist (1908 to 1988)
- Raymond Bingham - DJ
- Rakish Bingham - Football player
- Andrew Bingham - Politician
- Charlotte Bingham - Writer
- George Bingham, 6th Earl of Lucan - Irish soldier and politician (1898 to 1964)
- George Bingham, 5th Earl of Lucan - Soldier and Conservative politician (1860 to 1949)
- Edward Bingham - Recipient of the Victoria Cross (1881 to 1939)
- Michael Bingham - Athletics competitor
- James Bingham - Artist (1925 to 2009)
- Billy Bingham - Football player
- David Bingham - Scottish football player
- Judith Bingham - Composer
- John Bingham - Classical pianist (1942 to 2003)
- Francis Richard Bingham - Army general (1863 to 1935)
- Craig Bingham - Scottish football 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.