Inkam History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Scotland

The ancient roots of the Inkam family are in the Anglo-Saxon culture. The name Inkam 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 Inkam family

The surname Inkam 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 Inkam family

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

Inkam Spelling Variations

The first dictionaries that appeared in the last few hundred years did much to standardize the English language. Before that time, spelling variations in names were a common occurrence. The language was changing, incorporating pieces of other languages, and the spelling of names changed with it. Inkam has been spelled many different ways, including Ingham, Hugham, Inghem, Ingam and others.

Early Notables of the Inkam family

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

Migration of the Inkam family

Thousands of English families in this era began to emigrate the New World in search of land and freedom from religious and political persecution. Although the passage was expensive and the ships were dark, crowded, and unsafe, those who made the voyage safely were rewarded with opportunities unavailable to them in their homeland. Research into passenger and immigration lists has revealed some of the very first Inkams to arrive in North America: Richard Ingam settled in New England in 1703; Ben Ingham settled in Georgia in 1735; Joseph and William Ingham arrived in Philadelphia in 1858.

Citations +

Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
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
Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. Print
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)