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Empringhan is one of the thousands of new names that the Norman Conquest brought to England in 1066. The Empringhan family lived in Norfolk. The name, however, derives from the family's place of residence prior to the Norman Conquest of England in 1066, Herpingham, Normandy.
The surname Empringhan was first found in Norfolk where they were conjecturally descended from Roger Bigod, one of the most distinguished of all Norman nobles, who was granted the lands by King William, Duke of Normandy after the Norman Conquest in 1066 A.D, and was a junior branch of the Bigots. The village of Erpingham or anciently Herpincham consisted largely of a church and cottages, and was recorded in the Domesday Book in 1086. "The church, which is in the decorated and later English styles, with a lofty embattled tower, was repaired in 1841; in the south aisle is a brass effigy of a knight in armour, to the memory of Sir John de Erpingham, a great contributor towards the erection of the church." 1
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Empringhan research. Another 87 words (6 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Empringhan 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, Anglo-Norman surnames like Empringhan are characterized by many spelling variations. Scribes and monks in the Middle Ages spelled names they sounded, so it is common to find several variations that refer to a single person. As the English language changed and incorporated elements of other European languages such as Norman French and Latin, even literate people regularly changed the spelling of their names. The variations of the name Empringhan include Erpingham, Erpincham, Herpingham, Herpincham, Empringham and many more.
More information is included under the topic Early Empringhan Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Faced with the chaos present in England at that time, many English families looked towards the open frontiers of the New World with its opportunities to escape oppression and starvation. People migrated to North America, as well as Australia and Ireland in droves, paying exorbitant rates for passages in cramped, unsafe ships. Many of the settlers did not make the long passage alive, but those who did see the shores of North America were welcomed with great opportunity. Many of the families that came from England went on to make essential contributions to the emerging nations of Canada and the United States. Some of the first immigrants to cross the Atlantic and come to North America carried the name Empringhan, or a variant listed above: Thomas Erpingham settled in Barbados in 1685.