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| Origins Available: |
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In ancient Anglo-Saxon England, the ancestors of the Benthan surname lived in the West Riding of the county of Yorkshire, where the Benthan family settled near the village of Bentham, from which they took their name. The name is composed of the Old English words beonet, meaning bent grass, and ham, meaning settlement. 1
The surname Benthan was first found in Yorkshire, where "there is not much reason to doubt that this name is derived from the parish of Bentham, in the West Riding of Yorkshire. " 2 Bentham was listed in the Domesday Book of 1086 as Benetain. 3 Today, Bentham is a civil parish in the Craven district of North Yorkshire and comprises Upper Bentham and Lower Bentham.
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Benthan research. Another 102 words (7 lines of text) covering the years 1379, 1513, 1560, 1576, 1578, 1579, 1593, 1594, 1671, 1681, 1700 and 1733 are included under the topic Early Benthan History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
It is only in the last few hundred years that the English language has been standardized. For that reason, early Anglo-Saxon surnames like Benthan 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. The variations of the name Benthan include: Bentham, Bentheim, Benthiem and others.
Notables of this surname at this time include: Thomas Bentham (1513-1578), English Protestant minister, one of the Marian exiles, who continued secretly ministering to an underground congregation in London, Bishop of Coventry and Lichfield (1560-1579.)
Joseph Bentham (1594-1671), the English...
Another 39 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Benthan Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
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 Benthan or a variant listed above: Matthew Bentham who settled in Barbados in 1679; James Bentham and family settled in South Carolina in 1820; Mary Bentheim settled in Edenton in North Carolina in 1820..