FORDHAM
The surname Fordham is of English origin and is classically understood to be a locational name, derived from the Old English words ford – a shallow place in a river suitable for crossing – and ham, meaning homestead or village.
Consequently the meaning attached to the surname is “the homestead or village near the ford.” The name would have originally described an inhabitant of a settlement situated adjacent to a river crossing.
The locational attribution is corroborated by the existence of several English villages named Fordham, notably in Cambridgeshire, Essex, and Norfolk. The settlements are recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 as Forham or Fordham, confirming the Anglo‑Saxon origin of the name from pre‑7th‑century ford and ham(m), a flat low‑lying meadow by a stream.
In the early 13th century the surname appears in documentary sources. A Richard de Fordham is recorded in the Hundred Rolls of Essex in 1273. By the 16th century the name was common enough to appear in parish registers; on 21 January 1558 Alice Fordam married John Ashwell in Bassingbourn, Cambridgeshire, and on 9 October 1610 Andrew Fordham wed Margaret Dunche in Chatteris, Cambridgeshire.
Among the most celebrated bearers of the surname was George Fordham (1837–1887), a jockey who achieved notable victories in the 19th century. He won the Cambridgeshire Stakes on Little David in 1853, topped the list of winning jockeys from 1855 to 1862 with 165 consecutive victories that year, won the Oaks five times, claimed the Derby in 1879, and triumphed at the Grand Prix de Paris four times.
The earliest extant spelling of the family name is that of Andrew de (or of) Fordham, dated 1213, when he served as Rector of Griston, Norfolk, during the reign of King John (1199–1216). This early record demonstrates that the surname had already become established by the early Middle Ages.
Typical given names associated with the Fordham surname
Male
- Andrew
- Christopher
- David
- James
- John
- Mark
- Michael
- Paul
- Peter
- Robert
- Simon
- Stephen
Female
- Angela
- Christine
- Claire
- Elizabeth
- Emma
- Helen
- Jane
- Janet
- Linda
- Margaret
- 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 Fordham in...
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There are approximately 4,988 people named Fordham in the UK. That makes it roughly the 1,889th most common surname in Britain. Around 77 in a million people in Britain are named Fordham.
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 Fordham
- Julia Fordham - Singer-songwriter
- Andy Fordham - Darts player
- Michael Fordham - Psychiatrist (1905 to 1995)
- Herbert Fordham - Writer (1854 to 1929)
- Guy Fordham - Olympic field hockey player
- Cyril Fordham - Cricketer (1906 to 1988)
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.