Foljambe History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

The family name Foljambe dates back to the beginnings of the Norman culture in Britain - the Norman Conquest of 1066. Originally, Foljambe was a name given to a person who had a limp, or a malformed leg. The name was originally derived from the Old French fol, which means foolish, and jambe, which means leg. Such names are often attributed to people in jest. A broad and miscellaneous class of surnames, nicknames often referred or alluded to a physical feature. Unfortunately, on some occasions the tradition emphasized a physical deformity or injury in a way that would be considered cruel today, however, at the time this practice was meant only to identify a person by a distinguishing characteristic.

Early Origins of the Foljambe family

The surname Foljambe was first found in Derbyshire where by the early 11th and 12th centuries the name was already well established in the Peak District and was one of the marauding families of the East Cheshire and Derbyshire forests which were controlled by Sir George Vernon, known as the 'King of the Peak'.

In the 13th century, Sir Thomas Foljambe was Bailiff of the High Peak. These Cheshire and Derbyshire families provided the core of Knights and fighting men for the wars in France during that time.

Sir Godfrey de Foljambe (1317-1376) was a prominent landowner and politician from Derbyshire, the fourth son of Sir Thomas de Foljambe. At that time, the family were Lords of the Manor of Tideswell and also held lands at Darley Dale. Godfrey rose to become an Irish judge and served as Lord Chief Justice of Ireland. His tomb can still be seen at All Saints Church, Bakewell.

Foulsham is a village and civil parish in Norfolk that dates back to the Domesday Book where it was listed as Folsham and literally meant "farmstead of a man called Fugol" from the Old English personal name + ham. 1

The village gave its name to a family of Puritan dissidents who fled England to America to settle in Hingham, Massachusetts, where they frequently changed their name to Folsom.

Early History of the Foljambe family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Foljambe research. Another 86 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1622, 1626, 1633 and 1640 are included under the topic Early Foljambe History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Foljambe Spelling Variations

Before the last few hundred years the English language had no fixed system of spelling rules. For that reason, spelling variations occurred commonly in Anglo Norman surnames. Over the years, many variations of the name Foljambe were recorded, including Foljambe, Foljambes, Folgambe, Folgambes, Folyambe, Folyambes, Fuljame, Fuljames, Fulgambe, Fulgambes, Fulljames, Fullgames, Folljames, Foliambe, Fuliambe, Foliam, Fuliam, Foliams and many more.

Early Notables of the Foljambe family

Outstanding amongst the family at this time was

Sir Francis Foljambe, 1st Baronet (died 1640), Member of Parliament for Pontefract in 1626 and High Sheriff of Derbyshire in 1633. He claimed descent from the Derbyshire family whose residence was at...

Foljambe migration to the United States +

The unstable environment in England at this time caused numerous families to board ships and leave in search of opportunity and freedom from persecution abroad in places like Ireland, Australia, and particularly the New World. The voyage was extremely difficult, however, and only taken at great expense. The cramped conditions and unsanitary nature of the vessels caused many to arrive diseased and starving, not to mention destitute from the enormous cost. Still opportunity in the emerging nations of Canada and the United States was far greater than at home and many went on to make important contributions to the cultures of their adopted countries. An examination of many early immigration records reveals that people bearing the name Foljambe arrived in North America very early:

Foljambe Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

William Foljambe was naturalized in Allegheny Co. Pennsylvania in 1854

Contemporary Notables of the name Foljambe (post 1700) +

George Savile Foljambe CB VD (1856-1920), English cricketer and soldier
Francis John Savile Foljambe (1830-1917), English politician, Member of Parliament for East Retford (1857-1885)
Francis Ferrand Foljambe (1749-1814), English politician, Member of Parliament for Yorkshire, and for Higham Ferrers
Cecil George Savile Foljambe (1846-1907), 1st Earl of Liverpool, British politician, Lord Steward of the Household (1905-1907)
Arthur Foljambe (1870-1941), 2nd Earl of Liverpool, British politician, the 16th and last Governor of New Zealand, and the first Governor-General of New Zealand
Anton Foljambe (b. 1972), born in Christchurch, leader of the National Democrats Party (NDP) in New Zealand

Citations +

Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)