Contents [hide]

Gorham History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

Ireland United States Canada Australia New Zealand

Contemporary Notables Related Stories Suggested Reading Citations

Gorham History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Ireland

The ancestry of the name Gorham dates from the ancient Anglo-Saxon culture of Britain. It comes from when the family lived at Gorhambury located in the county of Hertfordshire.

Early Origins of the Gorham family

The surname Gorham was first found in Hertfordshire where they held a family seat from very ancient times, some say well before the Norman Conquest and the arrival of Duke William at Hastings in 1066 A.D. One of the first noteworthy people of the name Gorham was Geoffrey de Gorham, sometimes called Geoffrey of Dunstable or (of Le Mans) who died at St. Alban's, 26 February 1146. He was a Norman scholar who became Abbot of St Albans Abbey from 1119 to 1146. He was from the province of Maine, in the Dukedom of Normandy and was invited by Richard d'Aubeney, Abbot of St. Alban's, to become master of the Abbey school.

Early History of the Gorham family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Gorham research. Another 55 words (4 lines of text) covering the year 1776 is included under the topic Early Gorham History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Gorham Spelling Variations

Spelling variations in names were a common occurrence before English spelling was standardized a few hundred years ago. In the Middle Ages, even the literate spelled their names differently as the English language incorporated elements of French, Latin, and other European languages. Many variations of the name Gorham have been found, including Goreham, Gorham and others.

Early Notables of the Gorham family

Notables of this surname at this time include:

Sir Hugh Goreham of Gorhambury

Gorham Ranking

In the United States, the name Gorham is the 3,771^st most popular surname with an estimated 7,461 people with that name. 1

Migration of the Gorham family to Ireland

Some of the Gorham family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt. More information about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Gorham migration to the United States +

Families began migrating abroad in enormous numbers because of the political and religious discontent in England. Often faced with persecution and starvation in England, the possibilities of the New World attracted many English people. Although the ocean trips took many lives, those who did get to North America were instrumental in building the necessary groundwork for what would become for new powerful nations. Some of the first immigrants to cross the Atlantic and come to North America bore the name Gorham, or a variant listed above:

Gorham Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

John Gorham, who settled in Boston in 1630
Ralph Gorham, who settled in New England in 1630
John Gorham, aged 18, who landed in Virginia in 1635 aboard the ship "Phillip" 2
Thomas Gorham, aged 19, who arrived in Virginia in 1635 aboard the ship "Phillip" 2
John Gorham, who arrived in New England in 1644 2

Gorham Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Prince Gorham, aged 45, who landed in Maine in 1812 2
Allen Gorham, who arrived in New Orleans, La in 1813 2
Solomon Gorham, who landed in New Orleans, La in 1813 2
Arthur Gorham, who landed in San Francisco, California in 1850 2
S P Gorham, who arrived in San Francisco, California in 1850 2
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Gorham migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Gorham Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century

Mr. Nathaniel Gorham U.E., "Gorum, Nathaniel Goran" (b. 1752) born in Stamford, Fairfield County, Connecticut, USA from Stamford, Fairfield County, Connecticut, USA who settled in Parr Town [Saint John], New Brunswick c. 1783 he travelled aboard the ship "Two Sisters" in June 1783 with his wife Mary Whitney and 2 children, in 1784 there home was destroyed by fire the resettled in Grey's Mill, Kingston, Kings County, New Brunswick he died in 1843 3
Mr. Jonathan Gorham U.E., "John Goran" who settled in Saint John, New Brunswick c. 1784 3

Gorham migration to Australia +

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

Gorham Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Henry Gorham, who arrived in Glenelg Roads aboard the ship "Pestonjee Bomanjee" in 1838 4
Phillis Gorham, who arrived in Glenelg Roads aboard the ship "Pestonjee Bomanjee" in 1838 4

Gorham migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

Gorham Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Edward Gorham, aged 21, a labourer, who arrived in Nelson, New Zealand aboard the ship "Chile" in 1874
Mr. Edward Gorham, (b. 1851), aged 23, British settler travelling from London aboard the ship "Peter Denny" arriving in Port Chalmers, Dunedin, Otago, South Island, New Zealand on 26th July 1874 5

Contemporary Notables of the name Gorham (post 1700) +

Terry M. Gorham, American Republican politician, Candidate for U.S. Representative from Oklahoma 2nd District, 1990 6
R. P. Gorham, American Democratic Party politician, Alternate Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Montana, 1940 6
Nicholas Gorham, American Republican politician, Member of Rhode Island State House of Representatives 40th District; Elected 2002; Delegate to Republican National Convention from Rhode Island, 2008 6
Meeker Gorham, American politician, Member of New York State Assembly from Ulster County 1st District, 1854 6
Nathaniel Gorham (1738-1796), American politician, Member of Massachusetts State Senate, 1780-81; Member of Massachusetts State House of Representatives, 1781-87; Member, U.S. Constitutional Convention, 1787 6
Mark J. Gorham, American Democratic Party politician, Candidate in primary for New Hampshire State House of Representatives from Manchester 7th Ward, 1938 6
Josiah Gorham, American politician, Member of Connecticut State House of Representatives from Stratford, 1824, 1833 6
Joseph Patrick Gorham, American Republican politician, Candidate for U.S. Representative from Pennsylvania 3rd District, 1960 6
John Warren Gorham, American politician, U.S. Consul in Jerusalem, 1856-60 6
H. Wesley Gorham, American Republican politician, Candidate for Mayor of Norwalk, Connecticut, 1949 6
... (Another 24 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Citations +

"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
State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) The PESTONJEE BOMANJEE 1838. Retrieved from http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1838PestonjeeBomanjee.htm
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 26th March 2019). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, November 2) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html