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Farnham History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

Contemporary Notables Related Stories Citations

Farnham History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Ireland

The Anglo-Saxon name Farnham comes from when the family resided at Farnham, in several different counties including Buckinghamshire, Dorset, Essex, Suffolk, and the West Riding of Yorkshire. They were derived from pre-existing names for towns, villages, parishes, or farmsteads. In this case the surname Farnham was originally derived from the Old English words fearn + hamm which means a fern-covered homestead or property. 1

Another source has a slightly different understanding of the name: "so called from the Saxon Fearn, fern, and ham, a habitation or village—the village in the place overgrown with fern." 2

Early Origins of the Farnham family

The surname Farnham was first found in one of the many villages names Farnham throughout England in the following counties or shires: Dorset, Essex, North Yorkshire, Suffolk, and Surrey. Farnham Common and Farnham Royal are located in Buckinghamshire. 3

The name has numerous listings in the Domesday Book with various spellings that were in use at the time: Fernham, Dorset; Phernham Essex; Fareham North Yorkshire; Farnham, Suffolk; and Fernham Surrey. Farnham Royal was listed as Fernham Riall. 4

While one would suppose the surname originated from one or more of the aforementioned locals, another reference suggests we must look to Leicestershire, specifically Quorndon to find the surname's true origin as in "this ancient family was certainly seated at Quorndon two descents before the reign of Edward I." 5

Early rolls point to many of the aforementioned counties of England: Richard de Farenham in the Pipe Rolls for Surrey in 1205; Robert de Farnham in the Assize Rolls for Yorkshire in 1219; and John de Farnam, listed a a Freeman of York in 1323. 6

Early History of the Farnham family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Farnham research. Another 123 words (9 lines of text) covering the years 1290, 1312, 1483, 1636, 1642, 1665, 1666, 1753, 1784, 1832 and 1890 are included under the topic Early Farnham History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Farnham Spelling Variations

The English language only became standardized in the last few centuries; therefore,spelling variations are common among early Anglo-Saxon names. As the form of the English language changed, even the spelling of literate people's names evolved. Farnham has been recorded under many different variations, including Farnham, Farnhams, Farnhan, Fearnham, Farneham and others.

Early Notables of the Farnham family

Notables of the family at this time include

Richard Farnham (d. 1642), fanatic, "a weaver who came from Colchester to Whitechapel about 1636, where he and a fellow-craftsman, John Bull, announced that they were prophets inspired with 'the very...
Russel Farnham (1784-1832) was an early American frontiersman, explorer, and fur trader. He was an agent of John Jacob Astor's American Fur Company and later member of the Pacific Fur Company

Farnham Ranking

In the United States, the name Farnham is the 7,155^th most popular surname with an estimated 4,974 people with that name. 7

Migration of the Farnham family to Ireland

Some of the Farnham family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 50 words (4 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Farnham migration to the United States +

For many English families, the political and religious disarray that shrouded England made the far away New World an attractive prospect. On cramped disease-ridden ships, thousands migrated to those British colonies that would eventually become Canada and the United States. Those hardy settlers that survived the journey often went on to make important contributions to the emerging nations in which they landed. Analysis of immigration records indicates that some of the first North American immigrants bore the name Farnham or a variant listed above:

Farnham Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Thomas and Ralph Farnham, who settled in Roxbury, Massachusetts in 1634
Alice, Mary, and Ralph Farnham, who settled in Boston Massachusetts in 1635
Henry Farnham of Warwickshire, settled in Massachusetts in 1644
Jos Farnham, who landed in Virginia in 1663 8

Farnham Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Robert Farnham, who settled in Maryland in 1741

Farnham Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

C W Farnham, who arrived in San Francisco, California in 1850 8
S Farnham, who arrived in San Francisco, California in 1850 8
C N Farnham, who landed in San Francisco, California in 1850 8
J Farnham, who landed in San Francisco, California in 1850 8
George and W. Farnham, who settled in San Francisco, California in 1852
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Farnham migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Farnham Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century

Mr. Ephraim Farnham U.E. who settled in New Brunswick c. 1784 member of the Penobscot Association 9

Farnham Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century

John Farnham, who settled in Trinity Bay, Newfoundland, in 1802 10
John Farnham, who arrived in Canada in 1834

Farnham migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Farnham Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Giles Farnham, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "David Malcolm" in 1847 11
Ruth Farnham, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "David Malcolm" in 1847 11
Jane Farnham, aged 26, a domestic servant, who arrived in South Australia in 1859 aboard the ship "Escort"

Contemporary Notables of the name Farnham (post 1700) +

Mark Buddy Farnham (b. 1987), American football wide receiver
Sally James Farnham (b. 1869), American sculptor
Jeremiah W. Farnham (d. 1905), American merchant sailor and sea captain
Brian Farnham, American journalist and editor in chief of Patch
Russel Farnham (1784-1832), American frontiersman, explorer, and fur trader
Eliza Farnham (1815-1864), 19th-century American novelist, feminist, abolitionist, and activist
Joseph White Farnham (1884-1931), American playwright and a film writer and film editor
Leon Farnham, American former manager of NASA operations
Thomas Jefferson Farnham (1804-1848), American lawyer and author, who let an expedition across American to Oregon in 1839
Roswell Farnham (b. 1827), American Governor of Vermont
... (Another 16 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Citations +

Harrison, Henry, Surnames of the United Kingdom: A Concise Etymological Dictionary Baltimore: Geneological Publishing Company, 2013. Print
Arthur, William , An Etymological Dictionary of Family and Christian Names. London: 1857. Print
Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
Shirley, Evelyn Philip, The Noble and Gentle Men of England; The Arms and Descents. Westminster: John Bower Nichols and Sons, 1866, Print.
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
Rubincam, Milton. The Old United Empire Loyalists List. Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc, 1976. (Originally published as; United Empire Loyalists. The Centennial of the Settlement of Upper Canada. Rose Publishing Company, 1885.) ISBN 0-8063-0331-X
Seary E.R., Family Names of the Island of Newfoundland, Montreal: McGill's-Queen's Universtity Press 1998 ISBN 0-7735-1782-0
State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) DAVID MALCOLM 1847. Retrieved from http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1847DavidMalcolm.htm