Akim History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Scotland

Akim is a name of ancient Anglo-Saxon origin and comes from the family once having lived in Yorkshire. The surname Akim is associated with the parish of Acomb, which was located on the outskirts of the city of York.

Early Origins of the Akim family

The surname Akim was first found in Yorkshire, at Acomb which is now a suburb within the City of York Unitary Authority. The place name is most likely derived from the Old English acum, which meant "at the oak trees." The village dates back to at least the Domesday Book where it was listed as Achum, Acum and Acun, and was land held by the Archbishop of York. The village was designated as a manor held by St. Peter. There was land enough for 8 ploughs and there were 14 rent-paying tenants. [1]

By 1222, the village was listed as Akum. [2] East and West Acomb, Northumberland have traditionally been quite a bit smaller than the Yorkshire village with West Acomb being the larger of the two. In both of these latter cases, the first record of the place name was with the Akum spelling in 1268. Hadrian's Wall runs about 1 mile (1.5 km), north east of Acomb, Northumberland.

Some of the first records of the family were Philip de Akum, who was registered in Yorkshire in 1210 [3] and Willelmus de Acom who was listed in the Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379. [4]

Early History of the Akim family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Akim research. Another 142 words (10 lines of text) covering the years 1086, 1325, 1379, 1525, 1574, 1670, 1692 and 1767 are included under the topic Early Akim History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Akim 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 Akim family name include Acombe, Acomb, Acome, Acom, Acum, Akum, A Combe and others.

Early Notables of the Akim family

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

Migration of the Akim 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 Akim surname or a spelling variation of the name include: Robert Acom who settled in Virginia in 1642; and Thomas Acome who settled in Virginia in 1642.

Citations +

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)
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)