Show ContentsHughen History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The ancient roots of the Hughen family are in the Anglo-Saxon culture. The name Hughen comes from when the family lived at Hingham, a market-town and parish, in the incorporation and hundred of Forehoe in Norfolk. The parish dates back to the Domesday Book of 1086 when it was known as Hincham. [1]

By 1173, the parish was known as Heingeham and probably meant "homestead of the family or followers of a man called Hega," from the Old English personal name + "inga" + "ham. [2]

Another very reputable source has a very different understanding of the name. The Dutchess believes the name was originally Engaine, "from Engen or Ingen, near Boulogne: a baronial name, that has travelled down to our own times under an English disguise as Ingham. 'There are many places in England,' says Morant, 'named Gaynes, Engaines, D'Engains: one, for instance, near St. Neots in Huntingdonshire: another at Taversham in Cambridgeshire:' two, I may add, in Essex, Colne-Engaine and Gaines, held by Sir John Engaine in 1271 by the service of keeping the King's greyhounds; and one in Herefordshire, Aston Engen, now Aston Ingham. The original seat of the family was, however, at Senelai (Shenley) in Buckinghamshire, held in capite by Richard de Engen or Ingaine in 1086, with Redinges in Hunts. [1]." [3]

Early Origins of the Hughen family

The surname Hughen was first found in Norfolk where Ralph de Hungham or Hengham, (d. 1311), the early English judge, son of Sir Andrew de Hengham or Hingham, was born at St. Andrew's Manor during the second quarter of the thirteenth century.

"Like most of the great lawyers of his time he was an ecclesiastic. On 29 Oct. 1274 he was preferred to the prebend of Moreton-cum-Whaddon in the church of Hereford; on 19 Oct. 1275 he was appointed to the chancellorship of the diocese of Exeter, which he resigned in 1279. In 1280 he received the prebendal stall of Cadington Major in the church of St. Paul's, which he held until his death. On 16 Nov. 1287 he was appointed to the archdeaconry of Worcester, but resigned the office in the following year (Le Neve, Fasti, i. 417, 512, ii. 369, iii. 74). His rise as a lawyer must have been rapid. " [4]

Oliver de Ingham Baron Ingham (d. 1344), Seneschal of Aquitaine, was "son of Sir John de Ingham (1260-1309) of Ingham, Norfolk, by his wife Maroya or Mercy. An ancestor, also named Oliver, was living in 1183. John de Ingham served frequently in Edward I's wars in Scotland. Oliver was summoned to perform military service in Scotland in 1310 and 1314. In 1321 he was made governor of Ellesmere Castle, Shropshire, and next year actively supported the king in his operations against Thomas of Lancaster." [4]

Early English rolls provide us a glimpse of the spelling variations used through Medieval times. Ralph de Hengham was listed in the Subsidy Rolls for Worcester in 1275 and Ralph de Hengham was recorded in Yorkshire in 1303. [5]

The Ingham variant similarly hails from Norfolk, but some could have originated in Lincolnshire. The Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 include: John de Ingham, Norfolk; Nicholas de Ingham, Norfolk; and Oliver de Ingeham, Wiltshire. [6]

Early History of the Hughen family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Hughen research. Another 70 words (5 lines of text) covering the years 1287, 1328 and 1344 are included under the topic Early Hughen History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Hughen Spelling Variations

It is only in the last few hundred years that the English language has been standardized. For that reason, early Anglo-Saxon surnames like Hughen are characterized by many spelling variations. As the English language changed and incorporated elements of other European languages, even literate people changed the spelling of their names. Scribes and monks in the Middle Ages spelled names they sounded, so it is common to find several variations that refer to a single person. The variations of the name Hughen include: Ingham, Hugham, Inghem, Ingam and others.

Early Notables of the Hughen family

Another 30 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Hughen Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Hughen family

Many English families tired of political and religious strife left Britain for the new colonies in North America. Although the trip itself offered no relief - conditions on the ships were extremely cramped, and many travelers arrived diseased, starving, and destitute - these immigrants believed the opportunities that awaited them were worth the risks. Once in the colonies, many of the families did indeed prosper and, in turn, made significant contributions to the culture and economies of the growing colonies. An inquiry into the early roots of North American families has revealed a number of immigrants bearing the name Hughen or a variant listed above: Richard Ingam settled in New England in 1703; Ben Ingham settled in Georgia in 1735; Joseph and William Ingham arrived in Philadelphia in 1858.



  1. Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
  2. Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
  3. Cleveland, Dutchess of The Battle Abbey Roll with some Account of the Norman Lineages. London: John Murray, Abermarle Street, 1889. Print. Volume 2 of 3
  4. Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. Print
  5. Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
  6. Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)


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