Bethea was first used as a surname in the Scottish/English Borderlands in the medieval era. It came from the personal name Edmond. Bethea is a patronymic surname, which belongs to the category of hereditary surnames. Many patronyms were formed by a son using his father's personal name as a surname. Others were taken from the names of important religious and secular figures. Members of the Bethea family settled in Scotland, just following the Norman Conquest of England, in 1066.
The surname Bethea was first found in Edinburghshire, a former county, now part of the Midlothian council area where they held a family seat from very early times and were granted lands by Queen Margaret of Scotland. They take their name from the place name Edmondstone, the tun of Eadmund, near Edinburgh. The name may have been derived from Aedmund filius Forn, one of the witnesses to a charter by Thor filius Swani (c. 1150)[1]
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Bethea research. Another 163 words (12 lines of text) covering the years 1070, 1560, 1607, 1659, 1622, 1627, 1712, 1640, 1627, 1712 and 1654 are included under the topic Early Bethea History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Boernician names that evolved in the largely preliterate Middle Ages are often marked by considerable spelling variations. Bethea has been spelled Edmondson, Edmonson, Edminson, Edminston, Edmiston, Edmeston, Edmondon and many more.
Notable among the family at this time was Henry Edmondson (1607-1659), an English schoolmaster, entered Queen's College, Oxford in 1622 aged 15. William Edmundson (1627-1712), was an English Quaker whose father was a wealthy yeoman, was born...
Another 36 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Bethea Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
In the United States, the name Bethea is the 2,809th most popular surname with an estimated 9,948 people with that name. [2]
Some of the Bethea family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 91 words (6 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Some of the Boernician-Scottish Clan families who came to North America were Loyalists who went north to Canada after the American War of Independence. Families on both sides of the border went on to found two of the world's great nations. This century, families with Scottish roots have rediscovered their heritage through highland games and clan societies. An inquiry into the early roots of North American families reveals a number of immigrants bearing the name Bethea or a variant listed above: