Bingham

This famous and noble surname is English and locational. It originates from the medieval village of Bingham, now a parish in the city of Nottingham. The derivation is from the pre 7th century Norse-Viking word "bingr", meaning a byr or manger, and the earlier Olde English "ham", a homestead, or more usually, a farm. The first known recording of the village name being in the famous Domesday Book of 1086 in the spelling of Binggheham, before being recorded as Bingeham in 1165. Such locational names were in the first instance given to the lord of the manor, as in the first recording shown below, and early examples of the name recording include William de Bingham of Lincoln in 1257 and William Byngham in the Assize Register of the city of Nottingham in 1433. amongst the many interesting name bearers was George Charles Bingham, third Earl of Lucan, (1800-1888) and commander of the cavalry at Balaclava. He was M.P. for County Mayo in Ireland from 1826 to 1830. A branch of his family gavee their name to Binghamstown in County Mayo. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of William de Bingeham, which was dated 1175, in the Pipe Rolls of Nottingham, during the reign of King Henry ll, known as "The Builder of Churches", 1154-1189. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.