Gotham History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The surname Gotham was first found in Nottinghamshire at Gotham, a village south of Nottingham which dates back to at least the Domesday Book where it was listed as Gatham 1 and literally meant "homestead or enclosure where goats are kept," from the Old English "gat" + "ham or hamm." 2

The village is most famous for the stories of the "Wise Men of Gotham" in which the villagers feigned imbecility when the royal messengers arrived thereby foiling King John's intent to build a hunting lodge there.

One reference claims that he said "we ween there are more fools pass through Gotham than remain in it." However, one of the first listing of the surname was found years later in Essex in the year 1291 when Stephen de Gotham held estates in that shire.

Gotham was a nickname for New York City first attributed by Washington Irving in 1807 in his Salmagundi, a periodical which lampooned New York culture and politics. Apparently he took the name from Gotham Nottinghamshire. Bill Finger and Bob Kane decided that the fictional "Gotham City" would be appropriate home for their comic book character Batman.