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The Origin, Meaning, and Evolution of the Hallam Family Name The organization of the surname in England, as we know it, can be ascribed to William the Conqueror from the time of the Norman conquest (1066). There is very little evidence of surnames in Anglo-Saxon England before that time. Those who carry the surname Hallam, in one form or another, derived their name from the manor of Hallam located in southern Derbyshire and consisting of West Hallam, Kirk Hallam, Little Hallam, and Hallam Fields. I had proposed earlier that the name originated with the village of Hallam located in southern Yorkshire, which gave rise to the manor of Hallamshire, since evidence of such could be found throughout the early charters and tax records for the Sheffield area. However, I have since discovered that that branch of the family name died out around about the 1400's. Although there is a previous reference to a village of Hulum in surviving Anglo-Saxon Chronicles, the first reports in which we find a record of a place called Hallun are those contained within the Domesday Book (1086); the result of a survey commissioned by William the Conqueror some two decades after the Battle of Hastings. The Hallam name is an Anglo-Saxon toponym (place name or domain name) and precedes the time of the Norman invasions.The earliest mention of a Hallam, is that of an Adam de Hallun, whose name is cited in the Subsidy Rolls for Yorkshire dated 1297. The same person or a close descendant, Adum de Hallum and his son William de Hallum are cited in a Charter (Latin, one skin 9 x 4, seal missing) dated February 1327. In this Charter, in which Roger de Hallum is a witness, Richard de Staniton (Stannington) granted one oxgang, one half acre, one third rood of land and toft (in Stannington) to Adam de Hallum and is son William. The use of the prefix "de" meaning "of" in all of these ancient charters indicates the Norman convention of nomenclature and linkage to the village or manor of Hallam. Similarly, the earliest mention of the Hallam name in Derbyshire is that of Richard de Hallun which occurs in the Subsidy Rolls for Derbyshire dated 1327. Two Hallam brothers, Roger de Hallum and Thomas de Hallum, were listed as witnesses to a Charter dated 1342 (Latin, one skin 8 x 3, seal missing)concerning a piece of land in Stannington. There are nine recognized spellings for Hallam, but Hallam and Hallum are by far the most common. Names like Helms, Holmes, Holms, Holman, Hillen, Hellen, and Hellin, are not derived from the Hallam family name. If you would like more information on the meaning of the Hallam name and how the spelling evolved since it was first used as a surname ten centuries ago, you can contact me at my E-mail address [rlhallam@shaw.ca] for your own copy of the report. The paper, which runs 13 pages in length sells for $US 10.00 plus $US 3.50 postage. |
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