EnglandThe Bonnam surname is derived from the Old French words "bon" and "homme," in turn from the Latin "bonus homo" both of which literally meant "good man," but also came to mean a "peasant farmer."
The surname Bonnam was first found in Wiltshire at Bonham, a hamlet now in the parish of Stourton with Gasper. "Bonham, though placed in the Ordo, and even in some ancient documents, as in Somersetshire, is really in Wilts. The small manor and tything of Bonham had formerly belonged to a family of that name (Editha Bonham, elected abbess of Shaftesbury 15th November, 1441, obiit 20th April, 1460), and afterwards came into the possession of the Stourtons." [1]
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Bonnam research. Another 211 words (15 lines of text) covering the years 1247, 1273, 1327, 1500, 1597, 1545, 1549, 1550, 1629 and 1611 are included under the topic Early Bonnam History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
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 Bonnam has undergone many spelling variations, including Bonham, Bonhume, Bonhomme, Bonhom, Bonhome, Bonum, Bonem and many more.
Notables of this surname at this time include: Sir John Bonham, English politician, Member of the Parliament of England for Chippenham in 1545, High Sheriff of Wiltshire from 1549 to...
Another 30 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Bonnam Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
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 Bonnam were among those contributors: George Bonham, who sailed to Virginia in 1635; and David Bonham, who was on record in Philadelphia in 1872. The town of Bonham in Texas was named after J.B. Bonham who was killed in the Alamo..
