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Bellam History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables

Bellam History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Wales

Bellam is a name that was brought to England by the ancestors of the Bellam family when they migrated to the region after the Norman Conquest in 1066. The Bellam family lived in Shropshire. The name could also be derived as a nickname meaning my good friend Literally, the name is derived from the Norman-French word belamy, "fair friend," which was used much in the depreciatory way in which we now employ "good fellow." 1

Alternatively the name could have originated in Bellesme, a town of France. 2 So as proof of this latter origin, we note Ralf Belami in the Norman Exchequer Rolls of 1189. 3

Early Origins of the Bellam family

The surname Bellam was first found in Shropshire, where Robert de Belesme was given Shropshire Castle to hold for King William. Fifty years later he rebelled against Duke William's successor, and successfully defended Shropshire Castle against King Stephen.

Also known as Robert of Belleme, the Earl of Shrewsbury, sometimes called Talvas, was the eldest son of Roger, Lord of Montgomery in Normandy, of Arundel and Chichester. "He was knighted by the Conqueror before the walls of Fresnay in 1073. In the revolt of Robert, the king's eldest son, in 1077, he and many other young Norman nobles upheld his cause against the king. As long as the Conqueror lived he and other Norman lords were compelled to receive garrisons from into their castles. This disabled them from disturbing the peace of the duchy. Robert in 1087 was on his way to visit the king, and had gone as far as Brionne when he heard of the Conqueror's death. He at once turned back, and turned the ducal garrisons out of his castles. " 4

"Bellamy is a name that has long been established in Nottinghamshire. It occurred in the adjacent county of Cambridge in the reign of Edward I. , and is at present to be found in Huntingdonshire. " 5

A well known name is early years, Chaucer noted in his famous Canterbury Tales 'Belamy, fayre frynde' (Belamy, fair friend.)

The Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 had two early listings of the family with different spellings: Hugh Belami, Cambridgeshire; and Roger Belamy, Oxfordshire. 6

Kirby's Quest listed "John Belamy, Somerset, 1 Edward III" (during the first year's reign of King Edward III. 7

"Other scattered notices of the name are forthcoming. In the Hundredorum Rolls of Edward I. we find Gilbert and Roger Belamy in Oxfordshire, Matilda Belamy in Dorsetshire, and Hugh and John Belami in Kent. John and Peter Belami were of Edenbridge, in the latter county, in 1317: and the family reappears in Dorset during the last century, when Edward Bellamy of Rampisham, a wealthy wool-stapler, bought Beuvill in Corscombe, and owned Evershot, Cheddington." 3

Early History of the Bellam family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Bellam research. Another 115 words (8 lines of text) covering the years 1400, 1603, 1634, 1687, 1689, 1698, 1717, 1720, 1771, 1788 and 1813 are included under the topic Early Bellam History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Bellam Spelling Variations

Spelling variations in names were a common occurrence in the eras before English spelling was standardized a few hundred years ago. In the Middle Ages, even the literate regularly changed the spellings of their names as the English language incorporated elements of French, Latin, and other European languages. Many variations of the name Bellam have been found, including Bellamy, Belamy, Bellamie, Belamie, Bellamey, Bellame, Bellasme, Bellamly and many more.

Early Notables of the Bellam family

Outstanding amongst the family at this time was

Samuel "Black Sam" Bellamy (c.1689-1717), sometimes known as the "Prince of Pirates," an English pirate from Devon who operated in the early 18th century. He and his crew captured at least 53 ships un...
Another pirate, Charles Bellamy (fl. c. 1717-1720) was an 18th century English pirate who raided colonial American shipping in New England and later off the coast of the Carolinas, to which he himself...
Daniel Bellamy the Elder (b. 1687), was an English miscellaneous writer, born in the parish of St. Martin's, Ironmonger's Lane, on 25 Dec. 1687 was the son of Daniel Bellamy, scrivener of the city of...

Bellam migration to the United States +

For many English families, the social climate in England was oppressive and lacked opportunity for change. For such families, the shores of Ireland, Australia, and the New World beckoned. They left their homeland at great expense in ships that were overcrowded and full of disease. Many arrived after the long voyage sick, starving, and without a penny. But even those were greeted with greater opportunity than they could have experienced back home. Numerous English settlers who arrived in the United States and Canada at this time went on to make important contributions to the developing cultures of those countries. Many of those families went on to make significant contributions to the rapidly developing colonies in which they settled. Early North American records indicate many people bearing the name Bellam were among those contributors:

Bellam Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Thomas Lloyd Bellam, who arrived in Allegany (Allegheny) County, Pennsylvania in 1874 8

Bellam migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Bellam Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mr. James Bellam, (b. 1804), aged 30, English labourer who was convicted in South Holland (Parts of Holland), Lincolnshire, England for 14 years for house breaking, transported aboard the "Bengal Merchant" on 27th September 1834, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 9

Bellam migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

Bellam Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Mr. Charles Bellam, (b. 1832), aged 31, British bricklayer travelling from Gravesend aboard the ship "Lancashire Witch" arriving in Lyttelton, Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand on 13th October 1863 10
Mrs. Harriet Bellam, (b. 1834), aged 29, British settler travelling from Gravesend aboard the ship "Lancashire Witch" arriving in Lyttelton, Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand on 13th October 1863 10
Miss Elizabeth Bellam, (b. 1857), aged 6, British settler travelling from Gravesend aboard the ship "Lancashire Witch" arriving in Lyttelton, Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand on 13th October 1863 10

Citations +

Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
Arthur, William , An Etymological Dictionary of Family and Christian Names. London: 1857. Print
Cleveland, Dutchess of The Battle Abbey Roll with some Account of the Norman Lineages. London: John Murray, Abermarle Street, 1889. Print. Volume 3 of 3
Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. Print
Guppy, Henry Brougham, Homes of Family Names in Great Britain. 1890. Print.
Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
Dickinson, F.H., Kirby's Quest for Somerset of 16th of Edward the 3rd London: Harrison and Sons, Printers in Ordinary to Her Majesty, St, Martin's Lane, 1889. Print.
Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 7th October 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/bengal-merchant
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 17th October 2018). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html