Contents [hide]

Putman History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

United States Canada New Zealand West Indies

Contemporary Notables Historic Events Related Stories Suggested Reading Citations

Putman History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

The ancient history of the Putman name begins with the ancient Anglo-Saxon tribes of Britain. The name is derived from when the family resided in Puttenham, a place-name found in the counties of Hertfordshire and Surrey. 1 2 Both place-names have an identical etymology. They are derived from the Old English word ham, which means farm, and either the Old English personal name Putta, or the Old English word putta, which means hawk. The place-name taken as a whole means "farm belonging to Putta," or "farm where there are hawks." 3

Early Origins of the Putman family

The surname Putman was first found in Hertfordshire at Puttenham, a small village and parish, in the union of Berkhampstead, hundred of Dacorum. 4 The parish is listed as Puteham in the Domesday Book of 1086. 5 1

Puttenham, Surrey is another parish in the First division of the hundred of Godalming. 4 The first record of this local was in 1199 when it was listed as Puteham. 3

Puttenham Priory is a large house at the eastern end of the village and dates back to 1266. St John the Baptist church "occupies a picturesque situation close to the mansion of Puttenham Priory, is in the later English style, and contains some ancient brasses." 4

One of the first records of the family was Ralph de Puteham who was listed in the Curia Regis Rolls of 1205 for Berkshire. 6Later we found Richard de Puteham in Buckinghamshire in the Hundredorum Rolls of 1273. 7

Early History of the Putman family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Putman research. Another 92 words (7 lines of text) covering the years 1520, 1529, 1588, 1589, 1590, 1601, 1615, 1621, 1651, 1679, 1686, 1692, 1699, 1716 and 1774 are included under the topic Early Putman History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Putman Spelling Variations

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 Putman include Puttenham, Putnam, Putman and others.

Early Notables of the Putman family

Notables of this surname at this time include: George Puttenham (1529-1590), English writer who is the reputed author of "The Arte of English Poesie" (1589). His brother Richard Puttenham (1520?-1601?) has also been credited as the author of the same source. The issue is that the publication was issued anonymously in 1589. "The full title ran: 'The Arte of English Poesie, contrived into three bookes; the first of Poets and Poesie, the second of Proportion, the third of Ornament,' London, by Richard Field, 1589. It was licensed to Thomas Orwin on 9 Nov. 1588, and Orwin transferred it to Richard Field...
Another 143 words (10 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Putman Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Putman Ranking

In the United States, the name Putman is the 3,079^th most popular surname with an estimated 9,948 people with that name. 8

Putman migration to the United States +

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 Putman or a variant listed above:

Putman Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Johannes Putman, who arrived in New York in 1661 9

Putman Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Eliza Putman, who landed in Virginia in 1706 9

Putman Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

A. Putman, who settled in South Carolina in 1823

Putman migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Putman Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century

Private. Francis Putman U.E., (Putnam) (b. 1756) from New York, USA who settled in Osnabruck [South Stormont], Stormont County, Ontario c. 1784 he enlisted in 1780 serving in the King's Royal Regiment of New York 1st Battalion, married to Ann Dence 10
Mr. Henry Putman U.E. who settled in Home District [York County], Ontario c. 1786 he served in Butler's Rangers, married 10
Mr. Effron Putman U.E., (Ephraim) who settled in Eastern District [Cornwall], Ontario c. 1786 he served in the Royal Regiment of New York 10

Putman migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

Putman Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Philip Putman, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Ann Wilson" in 1857
Mary Putman, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Ann Wilson" in 1857
Ann Putman, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Ann Wilson" in 1857
Eliza Putman, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Ann Wilson" in 1857

Putman migration to West Indies +

The British first settled the British West Indies around 1604. They made many attempts but failed in some to establish settlements on the Islands including Saint Lucia and Grenada. By 1627 they had managed to establish settlements on St. Kitts (St. Christopher) and Barbados, but by 1641 the Spanish had moved in and destroyed some of these including those at Providence Island. The British continued to expand the settlements including setting the First Federation in the British West Indies by 1674; some of the islands include Barbados, Bermuda, Cayman Island, Turks and Caicos, Jamaica and Belize then known as British Honduras. By the 1960's many of the islands became independent after the West Indies Federation which existed from 1958 to 1962 failed due to internal political conflicts. After this a number of Eastern Caribbean islands formed a free association. 11

Putman Settlers in West Indies in the 17th Century

Amy Putman was banished to Barbados in 1685

Contemporary Notables of the name Putman (post 1700) +

Robert J. Putman, American Democratic Party politician, Candidate for Michigan State House of Representatives from Tuscola County, 1916
Fred W. Putman, American politician, Member of Minnesota railroad and warehouse commission, 1917
Claude "Curly" Putman Jr. (1930-2016), American songwriter, best known for his song "Green, Green Grass of Home" (1964), inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1976
Eddy William Putman (b. 1953), American former Major League Baseball catcher
Joris Jacques Kees Putman (b. 1984), Dutch actor
Andrée Putman (b. 1925), French interior designer

Historic Events for the Putman family +

HMAS Sydney II

Mr. Albert Edward Putman (1923-1941), Australian Ordinary Seaman from St. Kilda, Victoria, Australia, who sailed into battle aboard HMAS Sydney II and died in the sinking 12

Citations +

Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
Smith, Eldson Coles, New Dictionary of American Family Names New York: Harper & Row, 1956. Print
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.
Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
Rubincam, Milton. The Old United Empire Loyalists List. Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc, 1976. (Originally published as; United Empire Loyalists. The Centennial of the Settlement of Upper Canada. Rose Publishing Company, 1885.) ISBN 0-8063-0331-X
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies
HMAS Sydney II, Finding Sydney Foundation - Roll of Honour. (Retrieved 2014, April 24) . Retrieved from http://www.findingsydney.com/roll.asp