Colingeham History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Scotland

The name Colingeham came to England with the ancestors of the Colingeham family in the Norman Conquest of 1066. The Colingeham family lived in Yorkshire. They lived in Collingham, in a parish near Wetherby, as Lords of the Manor of Collingham.

Early Origins of the Colingeham family

The surname Colingeham was first found in West Yorkshire at Collingham, a village and civil parish bounded on the north by the river Wharf and comprises about 2,500 acres. The village dates back to 1167, when it was listed as Col(l)ingeham. North and South Collingham, Nottinghamshire actually date back further to the Domesday Book where they were listed as the one village of Colingeham. All have the same meaning of "homestead or village of a family or followers of a man called Col or Cola", having derived from the Old English personal name + ham. 1

Further to the north in Scotland, Coldingham is a parish in Berwickshire. "This place, of which the name is of doubtful derivation, has a claim to very remote antiquity, and appears to have originally acquired distinction from the erection of a nunnery, in the seventh century, by Ebba, daughter of Ethelfrith, King of Northumbria. The monastery of Coldingham is said to have been founded by Edgar, King of Scotland, about the year 1100." 2

Robert de Colingeham was listed in the Pipe Rolls of Leicestershire in 1195 and Richard de Kollyngeham was listed in the Subsidy Rolls of Sussex in 1296. 3

Geoffrey de Coldingham (fl. 1214), was an early historian of the church of Durham and was, according to the heading prefixed to the manuscripts of his book, sacrist of Coldingham priory, a ' cell ' or dependent establishment of the priory of Durham. "Of his life nothing is known. His history begins with the death of Bishop William de St. Barbara in 1152, and ends abruptly with the election of Morgan (an alleged natural son of Henry II) to the bishopric in 1214. " 4

Thomas Colyngham (fl. 1387), was a Cistercian monk, attended the university of Paris, where he proceeded to the degree of doctor, presumably in theology. 4

Early History of the Colingeham family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Colingeham research. Another 65 words (5 lines of text) covering the years 1195, 1296, 1379 and 1613 are included under the topic Early Colingeham History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Colingeham Spelling Variations

Multitudes of spelling variations are a hallmark of Anglo Norman names. Most of these names evolved in the 11th and 12th century, in the time after the Normans introduced their own Norman French language into a country where Old and Middle English had no spelling rules and the languages of the court were French and Latin. To make matters worse, medieval scribes spelled words according to sound, so names frequently appeared differently in the various documents in which they were recorded. The name was spelled Collingham, Colingeham, Coldingham, Kollyngeham, Colyngham, Colingam and many more.

Early Notables of the Colingeham family

Outstanding amongst the family at this time was

Robert de Colingeham, a prominent landholder in 12th century Leicestershire

Migration of the Colingeham family

Because of this political and religious unrest within English society, many people decided to immigrate to the colonies. Families left for Ireland, North America, and Australia in enormous numbers, traveling at high cost in extremely inhospitable conditions. The New World in particular was a desirable destination, but the long voyage caused many to arrive sick and starving. Those who made it, though, were welcomed by opportunities far greater than they had known at home in England. Many of these families went on to make important contributions to the emerging nations of Canada and the United States. Analysis of immigration records indicates that some of the first North American immigrants bore the name Colingeham or a variant listed above: John Collingam who sailed to Maryland in 1673.

Citations +

Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of Scotland. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. Print