Benthum History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

The Benthum name has descended through the generations from the ancient Anglo-Saxon culture. Their name comes from having lived in the West Riding of the county of Yorkshire, where the Benthum family settled near the village of Bentham, from which they took their name. The name is composed of the Old English words beonet, meaning bent grass, and ham, meaning settlement. 1

Early Origins of the Benthum family

The surname Benthum was first found in Yorkshire, where "there is not much reason to doubt that this name is derived from the parish of Bentham, in the West Riding of Yorkshire. " 2 Bentham was listed in the Domesday Book of 1086 as Benetain. 3 Today, Bentham is a civil parish in the Craven district of North Yorkshire and comprises Upper Bentham and Lower Bentham.

Early History of the Benthum family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Benthum research. Another 102 words (7 lines of text) covering the years 1379, 1513, 1560, 1576, 1578, 1579, 1593, 1594, 1671, 1681, 1700 and 1733 are included under the topic Early Benthum History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Benthum Spelling Variations

Only recently has spelling become standardized in the English language. As the English language evolved in the Middle Ages, the spelling of names changed also. The name Benthum has undergone many spelling variations, including Bentham, Bentheim, Benthiem and others.

Early Notables of the Benthum family

Notables of this surname at this time include: Thomas Bentham (1513-1578), English Protestant minister, one of the Marian exiles, who continued secretly ministering to an underground congregation in London, Bishop of Coventry and Lichfield (1560-1579.) Joseph Bentham (1594-1671), the English...
Another 39 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Benthum Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Benthum family

To escape the unstable social climate in England of this time, many families boarded ships for the New World with the hope of finding land, opportunity, and greater religious and political freedom. Although the voyages were expensive, crowded, and difficult, those families that arrived often found greater opportunities and freedoms than they could have experienced at home. 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 Benthum were among those contributors: Matthew Bentham who settled in Barbados in 1679; James Bentham and family settled in South Carolina in 1820; Mary Bentheim settled in Edenton in North Carolina in 1820..

Citations +

Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)