The name Ransume came to England with the ancestors of the Ransume family in the Norman Conquest of 1066. It comes from the Anglo-Norman given name Randolph. The name also derives from the Old English word randim, meaning riverbank, and indicates that the original bearer of the name live near such a geographic feature.
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Early Origins of the Ransume family
The surname Ransume was first found in Suffolk where the name was derived from a place named Ransham, "though I find no place so called." 1 With regard to the more contemporary meaning of the word ransom, and continuing from this source, the author sites Mr. Ferguson "what curious changes, the whirligig of time brings round. We take our money to the descendant of the old sea-robber to take care of for us - Ramson & Co., bankers, Pal Mall. " 1
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Early History of the Ransume family
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Ransume research. Another 88 words (6 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Ransume History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
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Ransume Spelling Variations
Anglo-Norman names tend to be marked by an enormous number of spelling variations. This is largely due to the fact that Old and Middle English lacked any spelling rules when Norman French was introduced in the 11th century. The languages of the English courts at that time were French and Latin. These various languages mixed quite freely in the evolving social milieu. The final element of this mix is that medieval scribes spelled words according to their sounds rather than any definite rules, so a name was often spelled in as many different ways as the number of documents it appeared in. The name was spelled Ransom, Ransome, Ranson and others.
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Early Notables of the Ransume family
More information is included under the topic Early Ransume Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
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Migration of the Ransume family
Because of the political and religious discontent in England, families began to migrate abroad in enormous numbers. Faced with persecution and starvation at home, the open frontiers and generally less oppressive social environment of the New World seemed tantalizing indeed to many English people. The trip was difficult, and not all made it unscathed, but many of those who did get to Canada and the United States made important contributions to the young nations in which they settled. Some of the first North American settlers with Ransume name or one of its variants: Robert Ranson, who came to Virginia in 1635; Jonas Ranson settled in New York in 1659; James Ransome settled in Virginia in 1682; Elizabeth Ransom, who arrived in Virginia in 1768 with her husband.
England
