Show ContentsSoame History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Early Origins of the Soame family

The surname Soame was first found in Suffolk where Earl Soham dates back to the Domesday Book 1 as lands held by Count Alan. At that time a manor was listed on four carucates of land. Some of the family remained in Normandy as Radulphus Sone was listed there in a census conducted 1180-95. 2

The same census also listed a R. Sone or Sonne in 1198. The name literally means " homestead by the pool" when translated from the Old English sae + ham.

Soham is also a small town in Cambridgeshire that has a similar lineage that dates back to before the Domesday Book. For it is here that Saegham was listed c. 1100.3

But the name dates back further; Luttingus, a Saxon nobleman built a cathedral and palace at Soham around 900 AD, on the site of the present day Church of St. Andrews.

Early History of the Soame family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Soame research. Another 103 words (7 lines of text) covering the years 1086, 1540, 1575, 1584, 1598, 1601, 1619, 1640, 1648, 1671 and 1685 are included under the topic Early Soame History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Soame Spelling Variations

A multitude of spelling variations characterize Norman surnames. Many variations occurred because Old and Middle English lacked any definite spelling rules. The introduction of Norman French to England also had a pronounced effect, as did the court languages of Latin and French. Therefore, one person was often referred to by several different spellings in a single lifetime. The various spellings include Soam, Soams, Soames, Somes, Soame, Soan, Soanes and others.

Early Notables of the Soame family

Outstanding amongst the family at this time was

  • Sir Stephen Soame (c.1540-1619), an English merchant and politician who sat in the House of Commons in 1601, Lord Mayor of London in 1598; Sir Peter Soam, Lord of the Manor of Berkesden, county Suffol...

Migration of the Soame family

Many English families left England, to avoid the chaos of their homeland and migrated to the many British colonies abroad. Although the conditions on the ships were extremely cramped, and some travelers arrived diseased, starving, and destitute, once in the colonies, many of the families prospered and made valuable contributions to the cultures of what would become the United States and Canada. Research into the origins of individual families in North America has revealed records of the immigration of a number of people bearing the name Soame or a variant listed above: Sarah Somes who landed in New England in 1745; Thomas Somes settled in Virginia in 1727; Mary Soanes settled in Virginia in 1635; John Soance settled in New Haven Conn. in 1630..


Contemporary Notables of the name Soame (post 1700) +

  • James Soame (d. 1934), English portrait artist
  • Roger Soame Jenyns (1904-1976), British art historian
  • Soame Jenyns (1704-1787), English writer and politician, Member of Parliament for Cambridgeshire in 1742, oldest son of Sir Roger Jenyns 4


  1. Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
  2. The Norman People and Their Existing Descendants in the British Dominions and the United States Of America. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing, 1975. Print. (ISBN 0-8063-0636-X)
  3. Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
  4. Wikisource contributors. "Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900." Wikisource . Wikisource , 4 Jun. 2018. Web. 26 October 2020


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