The ancestors of the bearers of the Grandem family name are thought have lived in ancient Anglo-Saxon England. They were first found in Grantham, a town located in the county of Lincolnshire. The name was derived from the Old English word grand which may have been derived from the personal name Granta and the Old English word ham meaning "homestead" [1]
The surname Grandem was first found in Lincolnshire at Grantham, a market town within the South Kesteven district, which was first listed in the Domesday Book as Grantham. [2] [3]
The place name probably meant "homestead or village of a man called Granta" derived from the Old English personal name + ham. Alternatively, the name could have been derived from the Old English word "grand" meaning "gravel" + ham. [4]
One of the first records of the family was Thomas de Grantham who was listed in the Curia Regis Rolls for Hertfordshire in 1220. [5]
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Grandem research. Another 103 words (7 lines of text) covering the years 1328, 1544, 1573, 1630, 1604, 1629, 1589, 1612, 1655, 1640, 1641, 1718, 1634, 1692 and 1634 are included under the topic Early Grandem History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Until quite recently, the English language has lacked a definite system of spelling rules. Consequently, Anglo-Saxon surnames are characterized by a multitude of spelling variations. Changes in Anglo-Saxon names were influenced by the evolution of the English language, as it incorporated elements of French, Latin, and other languages. Although Medieval scribes and church officials recorded names as they sounded, so it is common to find one person referred to by several different spellings of his surname, even the most literate people varied the spelling of their own names. Variations of the name Grandem include Grantham, Grantam, Grantem, Grantum, Granthem and others.
Notables of this surname at this time include: Sir Thomas Grantham (1573-1630), an English politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1604 to 1629, matriculated at Christ Church, Oxford (1589); and his son, Thomas Grantham (1612-1655), an English politician, Member of Parliament for Lincoln for 1640, fought on the Parliamentary side in the English Civil War; and Sir Thomas Grantham (1641-1718), an English tobacco trader and naval officer, Commander of...
Another 71 words (5 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Grandem Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Searching for a better life, many English families migrated to British colonies. Unfortunately, the majority of them traveled under extremely harsh conditions: overcrowding on the ships caused the majority of the immigrants to arrive diseased, famished, and destitute from the long journey across the ocean. For those families that arrived safely, modest prosperity was attainable, and many went on to make invaluable contributions to the development of the cultures of the new colonies. Research into the origins of individual families in North America revealed records of the immigration of a number of people bearing the name Grandem or a variant listed above: John Grantham arrived in Pennsylvania in 1772; another John settled in New England in 1778; Peter Grantham settled in New York in 1807; James Grantham arrived in Philadelphia in 1851.