Sidnam History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

The name Sidnam is of Anglo-Saxon origin and came from when a family lived in the parish of Sydenham found in the counties of Devon, Oxfordshire and Somerset. 1 2 These place-names were derived from the Old English terms sid meaning wide and hamm meaning water meadow. 3

Sidnam is a topographic surname, which was given to a person who resided near a physical feature such as a hill, stream, church, or type of tree. During the Middle Ages, as society became more complex, individuals needed a way to be distinguishable from others. Toponymic surnames were developed as a result of this need. Various features in the landscape or area were used to distinguish people from one another. In this case the original bearers of the surname Sidnam were named due to their close proximity to the wide water meadow.

Early Origins of the Sidnam family

The surname Sidnam was first found in Northumberland where Ascelin de Sidenham was listed in the Assize Rolls for 1202. Later, Walter de Sydenham was found in the Feet of Fines for Oxford in 1284 and John Sydenham in the Subsidy Rolls for Somerset in 1327. Later again, Richards Sydenham was recorded in the Assize Rolls for Lincolnshire in 1384. 4

Early Somerset records show John de Sydenham, 1 Edward; and Simon de Sidenham, 1 Edward III (during the first year of the reign of King Edward III.) 5

Early History of the Sidnam family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Sidnam research. Another 110 words (8 lines of text) covering the years 1150, 1224, 1418, 1429, 1431, 1438, 1615, 1620, 1624, 1628, 1641, 1642, 1643, 1654, 1661, 1669, 1671, 1676, 1679, 1689, 1696 and 1739 are included under the topic Early Sidnam History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Sidnam Spelling Variations

Sound was what guided spelling in the essentially pre-literate Middle Ages, so one person's name was often recorded under several variations during a single lifetime. Also, before the advent of the printing press and the first dictionaries, the English language was not standardized. Therefore, spelling variations were common, even among the names of the most literate people. Known variations of the Sidnam family name include Sydenham, Sidenham, Sydenhame, Sidenhame and others.

Early Notables of the Sidnam family

Notables of this surname at this time include: Simon Sydenham (died 1438), medieval Dean of Salisbury (1418-1431) and Bishop of Chichester (1429-1438); Sir John Sydenham, 1st Baronet of Brimpton, Somerset (c. 1620-1643); Sir John Sydenham, 2nd Baronet of Brimpton (1643-1696) Member of Parliament for Somerset (1669-1679); Sir Philip Sydenham, 3rd Baronet of Brimpton (c. 1676-1739) Member of Parliament for Ilchester; Sir Ralph Sydenham (died 1671), an English politician who...
Another 69 words (5 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Sidnam Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Sidnam family

For political, religious, and economic reasons, thousands of English families boarded ships for Ireland, the Canadas, the America colonies, and many of smaller tropical colonies in the hope of finding better lives abroad. Although the passage on the cramped, dank ships caused many to arrive in the New World diseased and starving, those families that survived the trip often went on to make valuable contributions to those new societies to which they arrived. Early immigrants bearing the Sidnam surname or a spelling variation of the name include : Richard Sidenham, who arrived in Barbados in 1670; Mary Sydenham, who settled in Pennsylvania in 1682; William Sydenham, a servant sent to Virginia in 1674.

Citations +

Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
Barber, Henry, British Family Names London: Elliot Stock, 62 Paternoster Row, 1894. Print.
Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
Dickinson, F.H., Kirby's Quest for Somerset of 16th of Edward the 3rd London: Harrison and Sons, Printers in Ordinary to Her Majesty, St, Martin's Lane, 1889. Print.