BOTTOM
The surname Bottom is a traditional English family name of purely topographic origin. It was first applied to individuals dwelling at the lowest part of a valley or hillside and later became hereditary.
Its linguistic roots lie in the Old English words botm and bothm, which mean “bottom” or “lowest part”. These terms were used to describe geographic depressions such as dells or hollows, and the surname was consequently given to people residing in or near such features.
During the Middle Ages, topographic surnames such as Bottom were among the earliest adopted. The natural landscape of the British Isles—wide valleys, broad hollows, and low-lying slopes—provided a ready supply of distinctive identifiers for small communities. Some individuals initially earned the name as a nickname for a low‑lying domicile or a modest social position, but the meaning was strictly locational.
Several spelling variants have evolved, including Bottome, Bottoms, Battams, and Botham(s). The name also appears in place‑based forms such as Bottom (of the Moor) in Lancashire, Bottoms in South Nottinghamshire, and the West Ridings of Yorkshire. These associations illustrate how the surname has long been linked to specific geographic sites across northern England.
Recorded occurrences of the name date back to the late thirteenth and early fourteenth centuries. For example, Laurence de Bothum (Yorkshire, 1297) and Richard del Bothom (Yorkshire, 1307) appear in contemporary documents. In the early seventeenth century, Robert Botham married Elizabeth Hill in Bradfield, Yorkshire, on 1 September 1628. A heraldic record for the Yorkshire Botham family describes a silver shield bearing six pellets as their coat of arms.
The earliest documented spelling, Dowe de Bothemes, is found in the “Assize Court Rolls of Lancashire” in 1246. This witness is recorded during the reign of King Henry 111, known as “the Frenchman”, 1216–1272. The name’s presence in court proceedings indicates its established usage among the gentry and common people alike during the Middle Ages.
In contemporary times the surname is most prevalent in England, particularly in the north. Though it has spread to English‑speaking countries—such as the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand—the name remains uncommon. Within the United States it shows a modest concentration in Ohio and Kentucky, though it is not a frequent surname in any single location.
Other surnames with analogous topographic or locational derivations include Hill, Brooks, and Clark. Variant spellings such as Bott, Botts, and Bottoms may appear in genealogical records; however, these are best confirmed through primary documentation rather than speculative inference.
Typical given names associated with the Bottom surname
Male
- Daniel
- David
- Ian
- John
- Mark
- Michael
- Paul
- Peter
- Philip
- Richard
- Stephen
Female
- Anne
- Christine
- Hilary
- Jean
- Joanne
- Kathleen
- Margaret
- Michelle
- Patricia
- Rachel
- Sara
- Sarah
- Shirley
- 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 Bottom in...
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There are approximately 534 people named Bottom in the UK. That makes it one of Britain's least common surnames. Only around eight in a million people in Britain are named Bottom.
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 Bottom
- Arthur Bottom - Football player (1930 to 2012)
- Daniel Bottom - Cricketer (1864 to 1937)
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.