Buckingham

This name is of English locational origin from the town of that name in Buckinghamshire. The name derives from the Olde English pre 7th Century 'hamm' meaning 'a water meadow' or 'piece of low lying enclosed land', plus 'ing', 'people of' and the personal name Bucca, hence, 'the hamm of Bucca's people'. The place name is first recorded as Buccingahamm in the 'Anglo-Saxon Chronicles' dated 918 and as Bochingheham in the Domesday Book of 1086. The surname from this source first appears in the latter half of the 13th Century (see below). George Nugent Temple Grenville (1753 - 1813), was created first Marquis of Buckingham in 1784. His son, Richard, became first Duke of Buckingham in 1822. James Silk Buckingham (1786 - 1855), published an autobiography and several accounts of his travels on the continent circa 1847. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of John de (of) Bukingham, which was dated 1273, The Hundred Rolls of Oxford, during the reign of King Edward 1, 'The Hammer of the Scots', 1272 - 1307. 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.