Bloxham

Recored in a number of spellings including Bloxham, Bloxam, and Bloxholm, this is an English locational surname. It originates either from a Bloxham in Oxfordshire, or from Bloxholm in the county of Lincolnshire. Both places were recorded as "Blochesham" in the Domesday Book of 1086 and have the same meaning. They derive the first element in the name from an Olde English pre 7th century personal name Blocc, of uncertain meaning, plus 'ham', a homestead or enclosed piece of land, hence 'the homestead of Blocc'. The surname is first recorded in the 12th century (see below), making it one of the earliest surnames on the register. Early examples of the name recordings include William de Blocesham and Alexander de Bloxam in the charters known as the "Hundred Rolls" of the county of Oxfordshire in 1273, whilst in 1292 William de Bloxham and Johannes de Bloxholme are recorded in the Hundred Rolls of Lincolnshire. Nicholas Bloxam of Gloucestershire is recorded as being a student in the register of Oxford University for the years 1621-22. The first recorded spelling of the family name is believed to be that of Robert de Bloxeham. This was dated 1130, in the Pipe Rolls of Lincolnshire, during the reign of King Henry Ist, known as 'The Lion of Justice', 1100-1135. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.