Hevenyngham History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Ireland

The Hevenyngham surname is most likely taken from the name of a village in England called Hevingham, near the city of Norwich in Norfolk county, but there are other towns of similar names in England. The Saxon word "Ham" meant "village," and the Old Norse word "Hami" similarly referred to "homestead." It is the suffix -ham that leads one to believe that Hevenyngham was originally a habitation name.

Early Origins of the Hevenyngham family

The surname Hevenyngham was first found in Norfolk at Hevingham, a village and civil parish in the union of Aylsham, hundred of South Erpingham. The first record of the place name was found in the Domesday Book of 1086 when it was listed as Heuincham 1 and literally meant "homestead of the family or followers of a man called Hefa," from the Old English personal name + "-inga" + "ham." 2

"Hevingham formerly belonged to the bishops of Norwich, one of whom, Walter de Suffield, in 1250 built a palace here, no trace of which now remains. " 3

Early History of the Hevenyngham family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Hevenyngham research. Another 129 words (9 lines of text) covering the years 1273, 1414, 1498, 1547, 1577, 1601, 1604, 1633, 1640, 1653 and 1678 are included under the topic Early Hevenyngham History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Hevenyngham Spelling Variations

Spelling variations in names were a common occurrence before English spelling was standardized a few hundred years ago. In the Middle Ages, even the literate spelled their names differently as the English language incorporated elements of French, Latin, and other European languages. Many variations of the name Hevenyngham have been found, including Heningham, Henyngham, Hevenyngham, Heveningham, Henygham, Henningham and many more.

Early Notables of the Hevenyngham family

Notables of the family at this time include

Sir John Hevenyngham, who was knighted in 1414 at Bury St. Edmunds

Migration of the Hevenyngham family to Ireland

Some of the Hevenyngham family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt. More information about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Hevenyngham family

Families began migrating abroad in enormous numbers because of the political and religious discontent in England. Often faced with persecution and starvation in England, the possibilities of the New World attracted many English people. Although the ocean trips took many lives, those who did get to North America were instrumental in building the necessary groundwork for what would become for new powerful nations. Some of the first immigrants to cross the Atlantic and come to North America bore the name Hevenyngham, or a variant listed above: Jacob Hevingh, who arrived in New York in 1646; William Henning who settled in Virginia in 1654; Paul Henning, who arrived in New York city in 1750; Thomas Henning, who came to Maryland in 1731.

Citations +

Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
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 England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.