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The surname Soan 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.
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Soan 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 Soan History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Multitudes of spelling variations are a hallmark of Anglo Norman names. Most of these names evolved in the 11th and 12th century, in the time after the Normans introduced their own Norman French language into a country where Old and Middle English had no spelling rules and the languages of the court were French and Latin. To make matters worse, medieval scribes spelled words according to sound, so names frequently appeared differently in the various documents in which they were recorded. The name was spelled Soam, Soams, Soames, Somes, Soame, Soan, Soanes and others.
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 Suffolk; Sir Thomas Soame (1584-1671), an English politician who sat...
Another 52 words (4 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Soan Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.