Contents [hide]

Hotham History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables

Contemporary Notables Related Stories Citations

Hotham History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Ireland

The Anglo-Saxon name Hotham comes from when the family resided in the settlement of Holtham or Houghham in Lincolnshire.

Today, Hotham is a small village and civil parish in the East Riding of Yorkshire, where "the manor was for many generations the property of the Hotham family." 1

The name is "assumed from the place of residence, Hotham in Yorkshire, probably derived from the Saxon word Hod, a hood or covering, and ham, a house, farm, or village, or a piece of ground near a house or village, both of which terms are applicable to the situation of Hotham. Houtham signifies a place at or near a wood, from the Dutch Hout, a wood." 2

Early Origins of the Hotham family

The surname Hotham was first found in Yorkshire, where they claim descent from "Peter de Trehouse, who assumed the local name of Hotham, and was living in the year 1188." 3

The brisk winds of time have dusted off some rather interesting entries about the Hotham family. Robert de Hotham was found in the Assize Rolls for Lincolnshire in 1202 and later, Walter de Hothum was listed in the Subsidy Rolls for Yorkshire in 1327. 4

The Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 included only one entry for the family, that of Robert de Hothum, Yorkshire. John de Hotham was Bishop of Ely, 19 Edward I (during the 19th year of King Edward I's reign.) 5

The Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379 also had only one entry for the family, Johannes de Hothum. 6

William of Hothum, also called Hodon and Odone, (d. 1298), was "Archbishop of Dublin, an Englishman who joined the Dominican order, and studied at Paris at the convent of the Jacobins, and became licentiate of theology in 1280, and afterwards doctor. He is often identified with the William de Hothum who was a fellow of Merton College, Oxford, in 1286; but this William is more probably a kinsman who between 1302 and 1306 was a prebendary of Swords in St. Patrick's, Dublin." 7

John Hothum or Hotham (d. 1337), was Bishop of Ely and Chancellor, "a younger son of a good Yorkshire family, was a clerk in the service of Edward II, and was when rector of Cottingham in Yorkshire appointed Chancellor of the Irish Exchequer in 1309, and the next year received from the king a prebend at York, and held the office of escheator beyond the Trent." 7

Early History of the Hotham family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Hotham research. Another 170 words (12 lines of text) covering the years 1316, 1584, 1610, 1615, 1617, 1621, 1622, 1632, 1645, 1655, 1663, 1672, 1689, 1691, 1693, 1723, 1736, 1738, 1765, 1767, 1806, 1813 and 1855 are included under the topic Early Hotham History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Hotham Spelling Variations

Before English spelling was standardized a few hundred years ago, spelling variations of names were a common occurrence. Elements of Latin, French and other languages became incorporated into English through the Middle Ages, and name spellings changed even among the literate. The variations of the surname Hotham include Hotham, Hothan, Hothum, Hothun and others.

Early Notables of the Hotham family

Distinguished members of the family include

Charles Hotham (ca. 1615-1672), an English cleric
The Hotham Baronets of Scorborough in the County of York, was created in the Baronetage of England in 1622. The family seat is Dalton Hall, Beverley, East Riding of Yorkshire. The boronets include: Si...
Sir John Hotham the Younger (1610-1645), was an English Member of Parliament. He was the "son of John Hotham of Scorborough, sheriff of Yorkshire in 1584, by his third wife, Jane Legard." 7
Durant Hotham (1617?-1691), was an English biographer, the fifth son by his second marriage of Sir John Hotham [q. v.], of Scorborough, Yorkshire. 7

Migration of the Hotham family to Ireland

Some of the Hotham family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 42 words (3 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Hotham migration to the United States +

A great wave of immigration to the New World was the result of the enormous political and religious disarray that struck England at that time. Families left for the New World in extremely large numbers. The long journey was the end of many immigrants and many more arrived sick and starving. Still, those who made it were rewarded with an opportunity far greater than they had known at home in England. These emigrant families went on to make significant contributions to these emerging colonies in which they settled. Some of the first North American settlers carried this name or one of its variants:

Hotham Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Robert Hotham, who landed in Maryland or Virginia in 1662 8

Hotham Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

John Hotham, who sailed to Virginia in 1715
Richard Hotham to Philadelphia in 1774

Hotham Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Ann Hotham to New York with her child in 1820

Hotham migration to Australia +

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

Hotham Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mr. Thomas Hotham, English Butcher who was convicted in East Riding, Yorkshire, England for life for stealing sheep, transported aboard the "Henry Tanner" on 27th June 1834, settling in New South Wales, Australia 9

Contemporary Notables of the name Hotham (post 1700) +

Vice Admiral Sir Henry Hotham (1777-1833), Royal Navy hero
Sir Charles Hotham KCB, RN (1806-1855), Australian politician, Governor of Victoria, Australia (1854-1855)
Admiral William Hotham (1736-1813), 1st Baron Hotham, an officer in the Royal Navy, Commander-in-Chief, Mediterranean Fleet (1794–1795)
Libby Hotham, Australian Program Director of the School of Pharmacy and Medical Sciences at the University of South Australia
Henry Durand Hotham, 8th Baron Hotham, Aide-de-Camp to the Governor of Tasmania
Beaumont Hotham (1794-1870), 3rd Baron Hotham, a British soldier, peer and long-standing Conservative Member of Parliament
Barbara Hotham Iglewski (1938-2023), American microbiologist and director of international programs at the University of Rochester Medical Center
Frederick Hotham Andrus (1850-1937), American outfielder and pitcher in Major League Baseball

Citations +

Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
Arthur, William , An Etymological Dictionary of Family and Christian Names. London: 1857. Print
Shirley, Evelyn Philip, The Noble and Gentle Men of England; The Arms and Descents. Westminster: John Bower Nichols and Sons, 1866, Print.
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
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)
Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. Print
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)
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 7th January 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/henry-tanner