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| Origins Available: |
| | England |
The name Kelm arrived in England after the Norman Conquest of 1066. The Kelm family lived at Kelham in Nottinghamshire, a parish northwest of Newark. The name Kelm is derived from the Old Norse expression for at the ridges. It is most commonly found in Northamptonshire and Nottinghamshire.
The surname Kelm was first found in Nottinghamshire. "A Norman family, who derive their name from Kelham, near Newark-upon-Trent, co. Nottingham, where they were seated at an early period. They still bear in their arms three covered cups, in allusion to the office of cup-bearer to Alan, earl of Richmond, the Conqueror's son-in-law, which was held by their ancestor. " 1
This was the place that Charles I. spent his last night before he gave himself up to the Scottish army, who encamped on the spot in May, 1646. 2
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Kelm research. Another 73 words (5 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Kelm History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Anglo-Norman names are characterized by a multitude of spelling variations. When the Normans became the ruling people of England in the 11th century, they introduced a new language into a society where the main languages of Old and later Middle English had no definite spelling rules. These languages were more often spoken than written, so they blended freely with one another. Contributing to this mixing of tongues was the fact that medieval scribes spelled words according to sound, ensuring that a person's name would appear differently in nearly every document in which it was recorded. The name has been spelled Kellam, Kelham and others.
More information is included under the topic Early Kelm Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
In the United States, the name Kelm is the 9,678th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 3
For many English families, the political and religious disarray that plagued their homeland made the frontiers of the New World an attractive prospect. Thousands migrated, aboard cramped disease-ridden ships. They arrived sick, poor, and hungry, but were welcomed in many cases with far greater opportunity than at home in England. Many of these hardy settlers went on to make important contributions to the emerging nations in which they landed. Among early immigrants bearing the name Kelm or a variant listed above were: