LAMING
Laming is an English surname that appears in medieval records as early as the late twelfth century. Its bearers were predominantly situated in the southern counties of England, with a notable concentration in Kent and Hertfordshire, and the name has subsequently spread to Australia and the United States.
The etymology of Laming is subject to several scholarly proposals. One view regards it as an occupational or nickname surname derived from the Old English word lamb, meaning a young sheep, combined with the suffix -ing that denotes lineage or association. Another theory connects it to the Middle English personal name Leofman, composed of leof, meaning dear or beloved, and mann. A further suggestion holds that it may have evolved from the diminutive lesham, originally a pet form of the Old Germanic Lambert, which itself means “land‑famous”; the consonant b was later omitted, producing Laming. An alternative hypothesis posits a derivation from the Old English lama, meaning “lame”, though this interprets the name as a nickname for an individual with a physical disability or possibly a caretaker of such persons. The suffix -ing in all accounts indicates a descendant or family of the root term.
Documentary evidence for the surname dates back to the reign of King Henry XI (1154‑1189). In the Templar records of Essex the name is recorded as Reiner Leman in 1185. Further entries include John Lambyn in the 1273 Hundred Rolls for Cambridgeshire and Henry Lambin in the 1292 London registers. Later medieval records record a Francis Laming whose son was christened in 1639 at St. Lawrence Jewry and St. Mary Magdalene, Milk Street, London; a Roger Laming who married Elizabeth Beane on 19 September 1644 at St. Dunstan’s, Stepney.
Geographically, the surname is predominantly established in the southeast of England, particularly in Kent, where early bearers such as Lambert Laming of the 13th century are credited with spreading the form via his descendants. Contemporary population data from the Forebears database list England, Australia and the United States as the most common locations for the surname today, with the local prominence of Kent and Hertfordshire still evident.
Numerous orthographic variants of the name exist, reflecting regional pronunciation and evolving spelling conventions. These include Leaman, Leamon, Limon, Leaming, Lammin, Lamping, Leman, Leyman, Lemon, Lemman, Leman, Leeman, Leemann, Lemington and Laminge. Hyphenated forms such as Laming‑Smith and compounds including De Laming have also appeared in later records.
In summary, the surname Laming is firmly rooted in Anglo‑Saxon England, with multiple plausible linguistic origins ranging from animal husbandry and personal names to descriptors of physical character. Its documented presence from the twelfth century onward, coupled with a wealth of medieval references and a broad array of spelling variants, underscores its historical continuity and geographical dissemination within the United Kingdom and beyond.
Typical given names associated with the Laming surname
Male
- Andrew
- Brian
- Christopher
- David
- Ian
- James
- John
- Mark
- Michael
- Paul
- Richard
Female
- Anne
- Brenda
- Caroline
- Christine
- Emma
- Helen
- Joanne
- Julie
- Margaret
- Rachel
- Rebecca
- Sarah
- Sharon
- 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 Laming in...
Braille
⠇⠁⠍⠊⠝⠛
Morse
.-...---..-.--.
Semaphore
Did you know?
According to a survey carried out by Democracy Club, politicians and candidates with the surname Laming are most likely to say that their favourite biscuit is a Oatcake.
There are approximately 1,061 people named Laming in the UK. That makes it roughly the 7,050th most common surname in Britain. Around 16 in a million people in Britain are named Laming.
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 Laming
- Herbert Laming, Baron Laming - Peer
- Richard Laming - Chemist (1798 to 1879)
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.