The 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."
Early Origins of the Bonnam family
The surname Bonnam was first found in
Bedfordshire (Old English: Bedanfordscir), located in Southeast-central
England, formerly part of the
Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Mercia, where they held a
family seat from ancient times.
Early History of the Bonnam family
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Bonnam research.
Another 421 words (30 lines of text) covering the years 1247, 1273, 1327, 1500, 1597, 1545, 1549, 1550 and 1629 are included under the topic Early Bonnam History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Bonnam 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 Bonnam has undergone many
spelling variations, including Bonham, Bonhume, Bonhomme, Bonhom, Bonhome, Bonum, Bonem and many more.
Early Notables of the Bonnam family (pre 1700)
Another 36 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Bonnam Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Migration of the Bonnam family to the New World and Oceana
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..