Metheringham

Recorded in various spellings including Metheringham, Methringham, Methingam, Meatheringham, and no doubt others, this is an English locational surname. It does originate from the village of Metheringham near Kesteven, a region within Lincolnshire. It is also confused with the similar sounding village of Mettingham in Suffolk, and it would seem likely that over the centuries and in the south of England and the city of London, the name spellings have become intermixed. According to the Oxford Dictionary of English Place Names, Metheringham could mean the place (ham) of the Metti people (ing), an ancient tribe, a meaning which they also give to Mettingham, or possibly "meadow - stream" from the Olde Englis pre 7th century maed-ric plus -ingham. The place is first recorded in the famous Domesday Book of 1086 as Medelai, so it is not surprising that there is some doubt as to the actual translation. The surname is well recorded in Lincolnshire from at least the time of Queen Elizabeth 1st (1558 - 1603. Examples taken from surviving church registers of the county include William Methringham, a christening witness at Bassingham on January 27th 1565, and Richard Metheringham, christened at Spalding, on January 17th 1685.