Bermant History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

The name Bermant was brought to England in the great wave of migration following the Norman Conquest of 1066. The Bermant family lived in any of several places of this name in the counties of Middlesex and Kent having derived from the Old English words beorg, meaning hill, and ham, meaning homestead. 1

Early Origins of the Bermant family

The surname Bermant was first found in Kent, where Barham is a village and civil parish in the City of Canterbury. An ancient Saxon village, it was listed as Bioraham in 799 1 and later as Bercheham in the Domesday Book. 2 There are also parishes in the Dioceses Ely, Chichester, and Norwich.

The first record of the surname was Warine de Berham, as holding lands in Kent in 1203. 3

The Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 included some early spellings for the name: Simon de Bernham in Norfolk; and Walter de Bernham in Suffolk. 4

The Placita de Quo Warranto, temp. Edward I-III listed John de Bernham, Kent, 20 Edward I (during the twentieth year of King Edward I's reign) and Thomas de Bernham, Suffolk.

"The family were lords of Barham, in Kent, at an early period, and according to Philipot, the Kentish genealogist, descendants of Robert de Berham, son of Richard Fitz-Urse, and brother of one of the assassins of Thomas a Beckett. " 5

"The Sussex Barhams are probably connected with the ancient Kentish family of Barham. In the 13th century Baham was a Suffolk name. " 6

Early History of the Bermant family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Bermant research. Another 133 words (10 lines of text) covering the years 1390, 1391, 1535, 1577, 1595, 1621, 1625, 1626, 1634, 1667, 1670 and 1726 are included under the topic Early Bermant History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Bermant Spelling Variations

Endless spelling variations are a prevailing characteristic of Norman surnames. Old and Middle English lacked any definite spelling rules, and the introduction of Norman French added an unfamiliar ingredient to the English linguistic stew. French and Latin, the languages of the court, also influenced spellings. Finally, Medieval scribes generally spelled words according to how they sounded, so one person was often referred to by different spellings in different documents. The name has been spelled Barham, Bareham, Barrham, Braham, Bearham, Bereham and many more.

Early Notables of the Bermant family

Outstanding amongst the family at this time was Richard de Berham, Sheriff of Kent (1390-1391); Sir Edward Barkham (died 1634), an English merchant, Lord Mayor of London in 1621; and Sir Edward Barkham, 1st Baronet of South Acre (1595-1667), an English politician who sat in the House of Commons in 1625 and 1626. Nicholas Barham (d. 1577), was an early English lawyer, "a native of Wadhurst, Sussex. His family had been settled there for some generations, being a branch of...
Another 78 words (6 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Bermant Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Bermant family

To escape the political and religious persecution within England at the time, many English families left for the various British colonies abroad. The voyage was extremely difficult, though, and the cramped, dank ships caused many to arrive in the New World diseased and starving. But for those who made it, the trip was most often worth it. Many of the families who arrived went on to make valuable contributions to the emerging nations of Canada and the United States. An inquiry into the early roots of North American families reveals a number of immigrants bearing the name Bermant or a variant listed above: Anthony Barham who settled in Virginia in 1626; L. Berham arrived in San Francisco, California, in 1850; Mary Barham settled in Virginia in 1654; Thomas Barham settled in Maryland in 1720..

Citations +

Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
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)
Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
Guppy, Henry Brougham, Homes of Family Names in Great Britain. 1890. Print.