Dunham
A locational surname from places called Dunham, especially in Norfolk, Cheshire, and Nottinghamshire.
The #1,604 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 13,807 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Dunham is a place-name surname taken from one or more English villages called Dunham. The name is generally explained from Old English elements meaning “hill” or “down” plus “homestead” or “village,” so the literal sense is something like “the homestead by the hill.” Historical surname writers also noted that some bearers may have been linked to Norman places of the same name or to Norman usage after 1066.
History
Medieval records show people styling themselves “de Dunham” from counties such as Norfolk, Lincolnshire, Suffolk, and others. The surname was established early in England and later spread more widely as families moved, with later emigrants carrying it to North America. 19th-century writers sometimes discussed possible Norman connections, but the English place-name origin is the main explanation used in modern surname reference works.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
There are several English places called Dunham, so the surname can point to more than one original hometown.
From the historical record
“Durnford. DUNHAM. Parishes and places in cos. Chester, Nottingham, Norfolli, &c. DUNK. A Dutcli surname, rather common both here and in America. It is probably an epithet implying dark or ob- scure. Du. cIo)i7;c)'. DUNKIN. An Eng. corruption of the Scottish Duncan. The Duncans ' came south ' at an early date, for…”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United KingdomNotable people named Dunham
- Lena Dunham (b. 1986)
- Jeff Dunham (b. 1962)
Sourced from Wikidata; linked to their Wikipedia page.