Show ContentsBothma History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Bothma is a name whose history is connected to the ancient Anglo-Saxon tribes of Britain. The name is derived from when the Bothma family once lived in a booth or hut, a cottager. The name could also be classified as an occupational name for someone who lived in a booth or hut.

Early Origins of the Bothma family

The surname Bothma was first found in Huntingdonshire, where they held a family seat from ancient times.

Early History of the Bothma family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Bothma research. Another 172 words (12 lines of text) covering the years 1273, 1287 and 1500 are included under the topic Early Bothma History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Bothma Spelling Variations

Sound was what guided spelling in the essentially pre-literate Middle Ages, so one person's name was often recorded under several variations during a single lifetime. Also, before the advent of the printing press and the first dictionaries, the English language was not standardized. Therefore, spelling variations were common, even among the names of the most literate people. Known variations of the Bothma family name include Boothman, Bothman, Bouthman, Bothmane, Boothmane and many more.

Early Notables of the Bothma family

More information is included under the topic Early Bothma Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Bothma Ranking

In South Africa, the name Bothma is the 532nd most popular surname with an estimated 13,341 people with that name. 1

Migration of the Bothma family

For political, religious, and economic reasons, thousands of English families boarded ships for Ireland, Canada, the America colonies, and many of smaller tropical colonies in the hope of finding better lives abroad. Although the passage on the cramped, dank ships caused many to arrive in the New World diseased and starving, those families that survived the trip often went on to make valuable contributions to those new societies to which they arrived. Early immigrants bearing the Bothma surname or a spelling variation of the name include: John Boothman who arrived in Barbados in 1680 and John Boothman in Philadelphia in 1822.


Contemporary Notables of the name Bothma (post 1700) +

  • Johannes Paulus Bothma (b. 1988), South African cricketer
  • Michiel Frederick Bothma (b. 1973), South African professional golfer who has played predominantly on the Southern Africa Sunshine Tour
  • Renaldo Bothma (b. 1989), South African-born Namibian rugby union footballer


  1. "Most Common Last Names in South Africa." Forebears, https://forebears.io/south-africa/surnames


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