HEMMING
Hemming is an English surname of Anglo‑Saxon origin. Its earliest recorded form derives from the Old English personal name Hemming, which is itself linked to the word hemm, meaning an enclosure or home. In medieval England the name was commonly adopted by individuals who resided near a small, enclosed area or a homestead, and it gradually became a hereditary surname.
The first datable references to the surname appear in the fifteenth‑century records of the North Riding of Yorkshire. There, the name is thought to have evolved from the Old English verb hemmen, meaning “to hem in” or “to fence off.” The name may therefore have been given to a person living close to a ground with a regular circumference, such as a ring of trees or hedges. In some instances, Hemming functioned as an occupational surname, denoting a tailor, milliner or dealer in cloth who was responsible for hemming garments and material.
In modern times the surname is widely dispersed across the globe. In Scandinavia it is particularly common, ranking 57th in Sweden with almost ten thousand bearers, 3,000 in Finland, around two thousand in Norway and about one and a half thousand in Denmark. Within the British Isles the name is the 44th most frequent in England, where approximately four and a half thousand people bear it, and the 43rd in Wales with just over one thousand. In Scotland it is the 264th most common surname, also accounting for a thousand or so residents. The name has a notable presence in the larger Commonwealth, ranking within the top three hundred surnames in Australia with more than two and a half thousand individuals. In the United States, Hemming falls within the top eight thousand surnames, with roughly twenty‑seven thousand people carrying it.
There are a number of spelling variants and related surnames that share the same Anglo‑Germanic root. These include Heming, Heiming, Heimmun, Heemming, Hemman, Hemmanning, Hemmink, Hemmins, Hemmings, Hemnings, Heemings, Heemins, Heems, Hemmingsen, Hemminger and Hemingway. In Dutch‑speaking regions the name may appear as Hamminga, while in Swedish‑speaking areas it is written as Hemming. Other forms found in continental Europe comprise Heminges in Spain, Heiminges in Portugal, Hejman in the Czech Republic and Poland, and occasionally Hambling in England. These variants are recognisable as stemming from the same linguistic origin, although their spelling has been adapted over time to suit local phonetics and orthographic conventions.
The continued prevalence of the surname Hemming across diverse regions, combined with its documented historical roots in medieval England and its linguistic connections to Germanic languages, underscores its enduring significance in the genealogical record. Individuals carrying the name today can take pride in its rich heritage and its deep ties to the cultural and linguistic history of the British Isles and beyond.
Typical given names associated with the Hemming surname
Male
- Andrew
- Christopher
- David
- James
- John
- Mark
- Michael
- Paul
- Philip
- Richard
Female
- Anne
- Christine
- Claire
- Deborah
- Jennifer
- Joanne
- Laura
- Margaret
- Patricia
- Rebecca
- Samantha
- Sarah
- Susan
Similar and related surnames
- Hamming
- Hammings
- Haming
- Hamminga
- Haiming
- Hemmin
- Hammin
- Hammington
- Hamonic
- Hemeng
- Hemin
- Heming
- Hemingham
- Hemingray
- Hemings
- Hemingsley
- Hemington
- Hemingway
- Hemins
- Hemmi
- Hemmig
- Hemmines
- Hemminger
- Hemmingfield
- Hemmingford
- Hemmingham
- Hemmingley
- Hemmings
- Hemmingsen
- Hemmingsley
- Hemmingson
- Hemmingsson
- Hemmington
- Hemmingway
- Hemmink
- Hemminki
- Hemmins
- Hemning
- Hemnings
- Hemsing
- Hemyng
- Himing
- Hominick
- Humenik
- Humeniuk
- Humenko
- Humming
- Hummings
Related and similar names are generated algorithmically based on the spelling, and may not necessarily share an etymology.
How to communicate the surname Hemming in...
Braille
⠓⠑⠍⠍⠊⠝⠛
Morse
.....----..-.--.
Semaphore
There are approximately 4,629 people named Hemming in the UK. That makes it roughly the 2,033rd most common surname in Britain. Around 71 in a million people in Britain are named Hemming.
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 Hemming
- John Hemming - Politician
- Lindy Hemming - Welsh costume designer
- Nick Hemming - Musician
- John Hemming - Canadian explorer
- Callum Hemming - Badminton player
- Chris Hemming - Football player
- Sophie Hemming - Rugby union player and veterinarian
- Leonard Hemming - Cricketer (1916 to 2010)
- Alfred Hemming - South African flying ace (1895 to 1)
- Geoffrey Hemming - Flying ace (1898 to 1926)
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.