Show ContentsNottingham History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The Nottingham surname is a habitational name, taken on from the city of Nottingham in the East Midlands.

Early Origins of the Nottingham family

The surname Nottingham was first found in Nottingham where Thomas de Notingeham was first listed in the Pipe Rolls of 1169. Later, William de Notingeham was found in the Feet of Fines for Lincolnshire in 1257. Later, Hugh de Notingham was registered in the Subsidy Rolls for Leicestershire in 1327. 1

The Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 included: Hugh de Notingham, Buckinghamshire; Ralph de Notingham, Oxfordshire; and Robert de Notingham, Nottinghamshire. 2

In Scotland, Henricus de Nothingham, was canon of Caithness who witnessed a charter of Johannes Fraser de Glenwyn in 1272. He "probably derived his name from Nothingham (in 1408 Nothigane) in the parish of Latheron, Caithness, now Nottingham." 3

William of Nottingham (d. 1251), was a "Franciscan [who] entered the Minorite order in his youth. His parents seem to have been in a good position, but even as a boy he played at begging for the love of God with his comrades. His brother, Augustine, also became a Franciscan, entered the service of Pope Innocent IV, and was made Bishop of Laodicea. William acted as vicar of Haymo, the English provincial, in 1239, and was himself elected fourth provincial minister in 1240. In 1244 he went to the Roman court, and obtained a papal letter to restrain the proselytising activity of the Dominicans. William appears in the chronicle of his friend, Thomas of Eccleston as a man of sound sense, considerable humour, and force of character, hating crooked courses, a faithful friend to those in trouble. " 4

Early History of the Nottingham family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Nottingham research. Another 119 words (8 lines of text) covering the years 1169, 1427, 1558 and 1718 are included under the topic Early Nottingham History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Nottingham Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Nottingham, Nottinham, Notham, Nottham, Notingham and others.

Early Notables of the Nottingham family

Outstanding amongst the family at this time was

Nottingham Ranking

In the United States, the name Nottingham is the 6,851st most popular surname with an estimated 4,974 people with that name. 5


United States Nottingham migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Nottingham Settlers in United States in the 17th Century
  • John Nottingham, who settled in Maryland in 1658
  • Rich Nottingham, who landed in Virginia in 1658 6
  • Thomas Nottingham, who landed in Maryland in 1670 6
  • Joseph Nottingham, who arrived in Virginia in 1673
Nottingham Settlers in United States in the 18th Century
  • James Nottingham, a bonded passenger, who arrived in America in 1755
  • William Nottingham, who settled in Virginia in 1768
Nottingham Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • William Nottingham, who landed in America in 1807 6
  • Eliza Nottingham, who settled in New York, NY in 1820
  • George Nottingham, who arrived in Philadelphia in 1821

Australia Nottingham migration to Australia +

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

Nottingham Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century
  • Mr. Thomas Nottingham, British Convict who was convicted in Leicester, England for 15 years, transported aboard the "Asia" on 25th April 1840, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 7
  • Miss Jane Nottingham, English convict who was convicted in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England for 15 years, transported aboard the "Duchess of Northumberland" on 25th November 1852, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land), she died in 1853 aboard the ship 8

Contemporary Notables of the name Nottingham (post 1700) +

  • Edward Willis Nottingham Jr. (b. 1948), former United States federal judge in the United States District Court for the District of Colorado (1989-2008)
  • Mark Nottingham (b. 1971), influential American web infrastructure developer
  • Don Nottingham (b. 1949), American football running back
  • Jimmy Nottingham (1925-1978), American jazz trumpeter
  • W. Nottingham, American Democratic Party politician, Chair of Gilmer County Democratic Party, 1961-63 9
  • Jack Nottingham, American politician, Candidate for Texas State House of Representatives 122nd District, 2002 9
  • David M. Nottingham (1854-1913), American Republican politician, Member of Michigan State House of Representatives from Ingham County 1st District, 1903-06 9
  • Ms. Emma Jill Nottingham O.B.E., British recipient of the Officer of the Order of the British Empire on 29th December 2018 for services to British foreign policy 10


  1. Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
  2. Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
  3. Black, George F., The Surnames of Scotland Their Origin, Meaning and History. New York: New York Public Library, 1946. Print. (ISBN 0-87104-172-3)
  4. Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. Print
  5. "What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
  6. 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)
  7. Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 17th January 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/asia/1840
  8. Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 22nd July 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/duchess-of-northumberland
  9. The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2016, April 1) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
  10. "Birthday and New Year Honours Lists (1940 to 2019)." Issue 62507, 28 December 2018 | London Gazette, The Gazette, Dec. 2018, www.thegazette.co.uk/honours-lists


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