Surname Etchingham - Meaning and Origin
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Etchingham: What does the surname Etchingham mean?
The last name Etchingham is derived from an area located in East Sussex. The place was named after a Saxon chieftain called Ecca's Ham and it is believed that people from this area adopted the surname. The origin of the name is further evident in the fact that in the early 11th century, anself was identified as having lands in Etchingham.
The original meaning of the name Etchingham was ‘Ecca’s homestead’, giving the surname a humble and pastoral connotation. The surname consists of two elements, ‘ing’ which was a pre-7th century word for a specific type of homestead, and ‘ham’, a word from the Old English-Saxon language meaning a village.
Historically, the Etchingham family can trace its origins to the Anglo-Saxon period of Great Britain. One of the earliest records of a family bearing this name is from 1296, when Adam de Etchingham was recorded in the parliamentary writs of Sussex. The Etchingham lineage spread around England and the family were said to be one of the most eminent families who traced their ancestry back to the days of the Anglo-Saxon monarchy.
Today, the name Etchingham still lingers in various place names around England. It can be found in Etchingham in East Sussex, and there are places called Etchingham in Hertfordshire, Kent and London. Etchingham is also a fairly common surname across the United Kingdom, with a few cases in the United States of America.
Order DNA origin analysisEtchingham: Where does the name Etchingham come from?
The last name Etchingham is most commonly found in the United Kingdom today. The name has a long and rich history in the region, with records showing an Archbishop of Canterbury called Etchingham as early as 1243.
The majority of current bearers of the name of Etchingham can trace their heritage to East Sussex and the counties of Hampshire and Kent. Census records from 1881 show that the largest population of people carrying the name Etchingham lived in the town of Battle in East Sussex, with the second highest concentration in the nearby towns of Cranbrook and Biddenden.
Today Etchingham remains a fairly uncommon surname in Britain, with just over 500 people sharing the name in the most recent records. Interestingly, despite its relative rarity, the name Etchingham can be found throughout the country, with small pockets of surname holders living in places as diverse as Belfast in Northern Ireland, Aberystwyth in Wales, and even Huntingdon in the east of England.
In the rest of the world, the surname Etchingham is almost exclusively found in Australia, with many descendants of 19th century British immigrants keeping the name.
The Etchingham name has many variations, such as Etchingsham, Etchingam, and Bombay.
Variations of the surname Etchingham
The surname Etchingham is an English habitational surname, coming from a county in Sussex, England. It is thought to have been derived from the old English ‘aecþe’, meaning ‘oak’, and ‘dec’ or ‘ham’, meaning ‘home’. Variants of this surname have been documented with different spellings – such as Achingham, Etchingam, Etchmon, and Echingham.
In records from the 11th century, the Anglo-Saxon given name Aethelgēom was found associated in the same areas of Sussex, which provides further evidence for a link between the modern surname and the old English meaning of ‘oak home’. It is highly likely that the given name attribute was the ancestor of the surname that remains today.
Variations of the surname Etchingham have been common throughout the centuries, for example Achingham and Etchingam were popular spellings in early records. The close variation of the variant Echingham is thought to derive from an alternate spelling of Aidingham which was given to people settled in the area. Histories from the 14th century have reported a variant of the name as Ethecham, seemingly a combination of the alternate given names Aethelgēom and Eadgingham.
Surnames associated with the same origin but different spelling are also common and include Aikinham, Aikram, Aikermon, and Atchmound. These forms of the surname may have been used by different branches of the family, with some of the surnames likely to have been formed by spelling changes due to regional dialects.
Overall, due to its various spellings, the surname Etchingham can be particularly tricky to trace in historical records while also permitting a broader insight of its place of origin and the people it is associated with.
Famous people with the name Etchingham
- Chrissie Hynde: singer, songwriter, guitarist, and co-founder of The Pretenders
- Peter Etchingham: British actor
- Jeff Etchingham: British jazz saxophonist
- Jack Etchingham: English professional football player
- Harold Etchingham: British Entrepreneur and Philanthropist
- Herbert Jack Etchingham: English first-class cricketer
- Lila Etchingham: American abstract expressionist artist
- Jacob Etchingham: British Army general
- Heye Etchingham III: American District Judge
- Mathilda Etchingham: American actress and model