The
Norman Conquest of
England in 1066 brought many new words to
England from which surnames were formed. Follyambes was one of these new Norman names. It was specifically tailored to its first bearer, who was 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 Follyambes family
The surname Follyambes 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. 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]CITATION[CLOSE]
Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4) 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 Follyambes family
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Follyambes research.
Another 171 words (12 lines of text) covering the years 162 and 1622 are included under the topic Early Follyambes History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Follyambes Spelling Variations
A multitude of
spelling variations characterize Norman surnames. Many variations occurred because Old and Middle English lacked any definite spelling rules. The introduction of Norman French to
England also had a pronounced effect, as did the court languages of Latin and French. Therefore, one person was often referred to by several different spellings in a single lifetime. The various spellings include 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 Follyambes family (pre 1700)
More information is included under the topic Early Follyambes Notables in all our
PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Migration of the Follyambes family to the New World and Oceana
Many English families left
England, to avoid the chaos of their homeland and migrated to the many British colonies abroad. Although the conditions on the ships were extremely cramped, and some travelers arrived diseased, starving, and destitute, once in the colonies, many of the families prospered and made valuable contributions to the cultures of what would become the United States and Canada. Research into the origins of individual families in North America has revealed records of the immigration of a number of people bearing the name Follyambes or a variant listed above: William Foliam who landed in North America in 1763; William Foljambe, who was naturalized in Allegheny Co. PA in 1854.