Bassam History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

• Origins Available:
• England

Etymology of Bassam

The name Bassam is from the ancient Anglo-Saxon tribes of Britain. The name was given to a person who was a coiner or minter. The name is derived from a coin called the byzantius, whose name is derived from the city of Byzantium, where they were minted. The word is derived from the "Middle English besant, besand, the Old French besan, pluralized as besanz, which in turn was derived from the Latin byzantius (nummus), meaning a gold coin." 1

"A bisaunt, bezant, or bizantine was an old coin both in gold and silver, and so called from having been minted at Byzantium. The silver bezant passed current for as. or thereabouts." 2

Early Origins of the Bassam family

Early History of the Bassam family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Bassam research. Another 116 words (8 lines of text) covering the years 1168, 1194, 1748, 1752, 1776, 1800, 1828, 1836, 1870, 1879, 1901 and 1917 are included under the topic Early Bassam History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Bassam Spelling Variations

Sound was what guided spelling in the essentially pre-literate Middle Ages, so one person's name was often recorded under several variations during a single lifetime. Also, before the advent of the printing press and the first dictionaries, the English language was not standardized. Therefore, spelling variations were common, even among the names of the most literate people. Known variations of the Bassam family name include Besant, Besaynt, Bezant, Bessant, Besand, Beasant, Bessent, Beazant, Bayzand, Beszant, Bassant, Bassent and many more.

Early Notables of the Bassam family

Robert Besant, Sheriff of London in 1194. 2 Sir Walter Besant (1836-1901), was a distinguished English novelist and historian. He was the son of wine merchant William Besant (1800-1879) and was born at Portsmouth, Hampshire. William Henry Besant (1828-1917) was his...
Another 40 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Bassam Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Bassam family

For political, religious, and economic reasons, thousands of English families boarded ships for Ireland, the Canadas, the America colonies, and many of smaller tropical colonies in the hope of finding better lives abroad. Although the passage on the cramped, dank ships caused many to arrive in the New World diseased and starving, those families that survived the trip often went on to make valuable contributions to those new societies to which they arrived. Investigation of the origins of family names on the North American continent has revealed that early immigrants bearing the name Bassam or a variant listed above: John Bassent, who sailed to South Carolina in 1673; Thomas Bassant, who arrived in Virginia in 1679; Peter Besand, who came to Philadelphia in 1879; Jacob Besand, who came to Philadelphia in 1880.