The ancient roots of the Hughan family are in the Anglo-Saxon culture. The name Hughan comes from when the family lived at Hingham, a market-town and parish, in the incorporation and hundred of Forehoe in Norfolk. The parish dates back to the Domesday Book of 1086 when it was known as Hincham. [1]
By 1173, the parish was known as Heingeham and probably meant "homestead of the family or followers of a man called Hega," from the Old English personal name + "inga" + "ham. [2]
The surname Hughan was first found in Norfolk where Ralph de Hungham or Hengham, (d. 1311), the early English judge, son of Sir Andrew de Hengham or Hingham, was born at St. Andrew's Manor during the second quarter of the thirteenth century.
"Like most of the great lawyers of his time he was an ecclesiastic. On 29 Oct. 1274 he was preferred to the prebend of Moreton-cum-Whaddon in the church of Hereford; on 19 Oct. 1275 he was appointed to the chancellorship of the diocese of Exeter, which he resigned in 1279. In 1280 he received the prebendal stall of Cadington Major in the church of St. Paul's, which he held until his death. On 16 Nov. 1287 he was appointed to the archdeaconry of Worcester, but resigned the office in the following year (Le Neve, Fasti, i. 417, 512, ii. 369, iii. 74). His rise as a lawyer must have been rapid. " [3]
Oliver de Ingham Baron Ingham (d. 1344), Seneschal of Aquitaine, was "son of Sir John de Ingham (1260-1309) of Ingham, Norfolk, by his wife Maroya or Mercy. An ancestor, also named Oliver, was living in 1183. John de Ingham served frequently in Edward I's wars in Scotland. Oliver was summoned to perform military service in Scotland in 1310 and 1314. In 1321 he was made governor of Ellesmere Castle, Shropshire, and next year actively supported the king in his operations against Thomas of Lancaster." [3]
Early English rolls provide us a glimpse of the spelling variations used through Medieval times. Ralph de Hengham was listed in the Subsidy Rolls for Worcester in 1275 and Ralph de Hengham was recorded in Yorkshire in 1303. [4]
The Ingham variant similarly hails from Norfolk, but some could have originated in Lincolnshire. The Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 include: John de Ingham, Norfolk; Nicholas de Ingham, Norfolk; and Oliver de Ingeham, Wiltshire. [5]
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Hughan research. Another 70 words (5 lines of text) covering the years 1328, 1287 and 1344 are included under the topic Early Hughan History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Before English spelling was standardized a few hundred years ago, spelling variations of names were a common occurrence. Elements of Latin, French and other languages became incorporated into English through the Middle Ages, and name spellings changed even among the literate. The variations of the surname Hughan include Ingham, Hugham, Inghem, Ingam and others.
Another 30 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Hughan Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
A great wave of immigration to the New World was the result of the enormous political and religious disarray that struck England at that time. Families left for the New World in extremely large numbers. The long journey was the end of many immigrants and many more arrived sick and starving. Still, those who made it were rewarded with an opportunity far greater than they had known at home in England. These emigrant families went on to make significant contributions to these emerging colonies in which they settled. Some of the first North American settlers carried this name or one of its variants: