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Fincham History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

Contemporary Notables Related Stories Citations

Fincham History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

The name Fincham was brought to England in the wave of migration that followed the Norman Conquest of 1066. The Fincham family lived in the parish of Fincham in Norfolk. The name of this place derives from the Old English word finc, which means finch, and ham, which means homestead. 1

The Domesday Book of 1086 lists this parish as P(h)incham. 2

Early Origins of the Fincham family

The surname Fincham was first found in Norfolk at Fincham. 3 Early rolls list Nigellus de Fincham, Norfolk, temp. William II; William de Fincham, Norfolk, 52 Henry III; and Thomas de Fincham, Norfolk, 22 Edward III. 4

The Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 include: John de Fincham, Norfolk; and Walter de Fincham, Norfolk. 5

Robert de Fincheham was listed in the Assize Rolls for Northumberland in 1202 and later, John de Fincham was found in Berkshire in 1305. Gilbert Fycheham was listed in the Assize Rolls for Lincolnshire in 1394. 6

One source claims the family was conjecturally descended from Robert Achard, the tutor of King Henry I, who was granted five manors in the county of Berkshire by his liege lord; one of these manors being Finchamstede or Finchamstead. It is believed that Robert's descendants in that manor became the Lords of Fincham.

Later, "the Finchams of Fincham Hall, Norfolk, owned property in Brantham, Suffolk, in the 16th century." 7

Early History of the Fincham family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Fincham research. Another 109 words (8 lines of text) covering the year 1582 is included under the topic Early Fincham History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Fincham Spelling Variations

Spelling variations in names were a common occurrence in the eras before English spelling was standardized a few hundred years ago. In the Middle Ages, even the literate regularly changed the spellings of their names as the English language incorporated elements of French, Latin, and other European languages. Many variations of the name Fincham have been found, including Fincham, Finchamsted, Finchamstead, Finchem, Finshaw, Finsher and many more.

Early Notables of the Fincham family

Outstanding amongst the family at this time was

Sir Thomas Fincham

Fincham Ranking

In the United States, the name Fincham is the 14,337^th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 8

Fincham migration to Australia +

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

Fincham Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mr. Silvanus Fincham, English sawyer who was convicted in Kent, England for 14 years for stealing, transported aboard the "Earl Spencer" in May 1813, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 9
George R Fincham, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "The Stebonheath" in 1850 10

Fincham 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:

Fincham Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Mr. Thomas Fincham, (b. 1837), aged 18, British labourer travelling from London aboard the ship "Grasmere" arriving in Lyttelton, Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand on 4th May 1855 11
Mr. George Fincham, (b. 1838), aged 17, British settler travelling from London aboard the ship "Grasmere" arriving in Lyttelton, Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand on 4th May 1855 11

Fincham migration to West Indies +

The British first settled the British West Indies around 1604. They made many attempts but failed in some to establish settlements on the Islands including Saint Lucia and Grenada. By 1627 they had managed to establish settlements on St. Kitts (St. Christopher) and Barbados, but by 1641 the Spanish had moved in and destroyed some of these including those at Providence Island. The British continued to expand the settlements including setting the First Federation in the British West Indies by 1674; some of the islands include Barbados, Bermuda, Cayman Island, Turks and Caicos, Jamaica and Belize then known as British Honduras. By the 1960's many of the islands became independent after the West Indies Federation which existed from 1958 to 1962 failed due to internal political conflicts. After this a number of Eastern Caribbean islands formed a free association. 12

Fincham Settlers in West Indies in the 17th Century

William Fincham, who arrived in Barbados in 1685 from whence he moved to Jamaica and thence to the mainland

Contemporary Notables of the name Fincham (post 1700) +

Joe Fincham (b. 1964), American football coach and former player, current head coach at Wittenberg University in Springfield, Ohio
Gordon Fincham (1935-2012), English football player who played as a half back. Born in Peterborough and made 250 appearances
George Fincham (1828-1910), London-born, organ builder active in Australia
Paul Timothy Fincham (b. 1959), British composer, younger brother of television producer Peter Fincham
Peter Arthur Fincham (b. 1956), British television producer and executive, Director of Television for the ITV network (2008-2016)
John Robert Stanley Fincham FRS FRSE (1926-2005), British geneticist who made important contributions to biochemical genetics and microbial genetics

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)
Barber, Henry, British Family Names London: Elliot Stock, 62 Paternoster Row, 1894. Print.
Rye, Walter, A History of Norfolk. London: Elliot Stock, 62, Paternoster Row, 1885. Print
Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
Guppy, Henry Brougham, Homes of Family Names in Great Britain. 1890. Print.
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 8th September 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/earl-spencer
State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) The STEBONHEATH 1850. Retrieved http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1850Stebonheath.htm
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 17th October 2018). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies