Contents [hide]

Gilham History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

United States Australia New Zealand West Indies

Contemporary Notables Historic Events Related Stories Citations

Gilham History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

The Norman Conquest of England of 1066 added many new elements to the already vibrant culture. Among these were thousands of new names. The Gilham name is derived from the Old French given name Guillaume. The name Guillaume was modified into two forms after arriving in England: Gillham and William.

Early Origins of the Gilham family

The surname Gilham was first found in Suffolk where Giliana was listed in the Feet of Fines in 1198. 1 Many of the family stayed in Normandy as in the same year, Udon Galien was listed there. 2 Due the prevalence to the often personal name, the name was scattered in early censuses as show by the Rotuli Hundredorum of 1279 which listed Gilianus de Levekenore Buckinghamshire and Adam filius Jellion in Cheshire. 1

Years later the Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379 listed the name as both a personal name and a surname: Petnis Gillam; Willelmus Giliam; Giliaum Spyser, 1379; and Ricardus Gillumman, i.e. the servant of Gillura. 3

Early History of the Gilham family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Gilham research. Another 95 words (7 lines of text) covering the years 1276, 1283, 1379, 1524, 1636, 1665, 1682, 1690, 1699 and 1701 are included under the topic Early Gilham History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Gilham Spelling Variations

Anglo-Norman names are characterized by a multitude of spelling variations. When the Normans became the ruling people of England in the 11th century, they introduced a new language into a society where the main languages of Old and later Middle English had no definite spelling rules. These languages were more often spoken than written, so they blended freely with one another. Contributing to this mixing of tongues was the fact that medieval scribes spelled words according to sound, ensuring that a person's name would appear differently in nearly every document in which it was recorded. The name has been spelled Gillham, Gillam, Gilliam, Gilham, Gillem, Gillum, Giliam, Gwillam, Gwillham, Gwilliam, Gwilham, Gyllham, Gylham and many more.

Early Notables of the Gilham family

Outstanding amongst the family at this time was Zachariah Gillam (Guillam) (1636-1682) American sea captain involved in the early days of the Hudson's Bay Company. Benjamin Gillam, American sea captain, brother of Zachariah, who in 1665 commanded the Charles which brought Radisson and Groseilliers to England where they began the foundation of the Hudson's Bay Company; and James Gilliam, also known as James Kelly, (died 1701), an English pirate active in...
Another 70 words (5 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Gilham Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Gilham Ranking

In the United States, the name Gilham is the 18,691^st most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 4

Gilham migration to the United States +

For many English families, the political and religious disarray that plagued their homeland made the frontiers of the New World an attractive prospect. Thousands migrated, aboard cramped disease-ridden ships. They arrived sick, poor, and hungry, but were welcomed in many cases with far greater opportunity than at home in England. Many of these hardy settlers went on to make important contributions to the emerging nations in which they landed. Among early immigrants bearing the name Gilham or a variant listed above were:

Gilham Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Joseph Gilham, who settled in Virginia in 1738

Gilham migration to Australia +

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

Gilham Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mr. George Gilham, English convict who was convicted in Surrey, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Canada" on 23rd April 1819, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 5
Miss Elizabeth Gilham who was convicted in Middlesex, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Burrell" on 31st December 1831, arriving in New South Wales 6

Gilham 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:

Gilham Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Mr. William Gilham, (b. 1841), aged 34, British settler travelling from London aboard the ship "Helen Denny" arriving in Hawkes Bay, Napier, North Island, New Zealand on 20th September 1875 7
Mrs. Mary A. Gilham, (b. 1843), aged 32, British settler travelling from London aboard the ship "Helen Denny" arriving in Hawkes Bay, Napier, North Island, New Zealand on 20th September 1875 7
Mr. Frederick Gilham, (b. 1865), aged 10, British settler travelling from London aboard the ship "Helen Denny" arriving in Hawkes Bay, Napier, North Island, New Zealand on 20th September 1875 7
Miss Elizabeth Gilham, (b. 1868), aged 7, British settler travelling from London aboard the ship "Helen Denny" arriving in Hawkes Bay, Napier, North Island, New Zealand on 20th September 1875 7
Miss Agnes Gilham, (b. 1871), aged 4, British settler travelling from London aboard the ship "Helen Denny" arriving in Hawkes Bay, Napier, North Island, New Zealand on 20th September 1875 7
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Gilham 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. 8

Gilham Settlers in West Indies in the 17th Century

Susan Gilham, who settled in Jamaica in 1661
John Gilham, who settled in Jamaica in 1680
John Gilham who settled in Barbados in 1680

Contemporary Notables of the name Gilham (post 1700) +

William Henry Gilham (1818-1872), American Confederate Army soldier, teacher, chemist, and author
George Gilham (1899-1937), American Major League Baseball catcher who played from 1920 to 1921 for the St. Louis Cardinals
Anthony "Tony" Allen Gilham (b. 1979), British auto racing driver, founder of the Tony Gilham Racing team
Stephen Gilham (b. 1984), Australian rules football player with the Greater Western Sydney Football Club
Cheyrl "Cherri" Gilham (b. 1944), British comedy actress, one of the first Page 3 girls, known for Girls Come First (1975), The Man Who Couldn't Get Enough (1974) and What's on Next? (1976)

Historic Events for the Gilham family +

HMS Cornwall

Ronald Thomas Gilham (d. 1942), British Able Seaman aboard the HMS Cornwall when she was struck by air bombers and sunk; he died in the sinking 9

Citations +

Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
The Norman People and Their Existing Descendants in the British Dominions and the United States Of America. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing, 1975. Print. (ISBN 0-8063-0636-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)
"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 9th December 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/canada
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 5th November 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/burrell
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
Force Z Survivors Crew List HMS Cornwall (Retrieved 2018, February 13th) - Retrieved from https://www.forcez-survivors.org.uk/biographies/listcornwallcrew.html#A