Graham () is a

given name A given name (also known as a forename or first name) is the part of a personal name quoted in that identifies a person, potentially with a middle name as well, and differentiates that person from the other members of a group (typically a fa ...

in the

English language English is a West Germanic language of the Indo-European language family, with its earliest forms spoken by the inhabitants of early medieval England. It is named after the Angles, one of the ancient Germanic peoples that migrated to the is ...

. It is derived from the surname.

Origins

The

surname In some cultures, a surname, family name, or last name is the portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family, tribe or community. Practices vary by culture. The family name may be placed at either the start of a person's full name ...

Graham Graham and Graeme may refer to: People * Graham (given name), an English-language given name * Graham (surname), an English-language surname * Graeme (surname), an English-language surname * Graham (musician) (born 1979), Burmese singer * Clan ...

'' is an

Anglo-French Anglo-French (or sometimes Franco-British) may refer to: *France–United Kingdom relations *Anglo-Norman language or its decendants, varieties of French used in medieval England *Anglo-Français and Français (hound), an ancient type of hunting d ...

form of the name of the town of

Grantham Grantham () is a market and industrial town in the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England, situated on the banks of the River Witham and bounded to the west by the A1 road. It lies some 23 miles (37 km) south of the Lincoln and ...

, in

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a county in the East Midlands of England, with a long coastline on the North Sea to the east. It borders Norfolk to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south-west, Leicestershire ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. The settlement is recorded in the 11th century ''

Domesday Book Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...

'' variously as ''Grantham'', ''Grandham'', ''Granham'' and ''Graham''. This place name is thought to be derived from the

Old English Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain, Anglo ...

elements ''grand'', possibly meaning "

gravel Gravel is a loose aggregation of rock fragments. Gravel occurs naturally throughout the world as a result of sedimentary and erosive geologic processes; it is also produced in large quantities commercially as crushed stone. Gravel is classifi ...

", and ''ham'', meaning "hamlet" the English word given to small settlements of smaller size than villages.

Variants and use

In the 12th century the surname was taken from

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

by Sir

William de Graham William de Graham was an Anglo-Normans, Anglo-Norman who received the lands of Abercorn and Dalkeith during the reign of David I, King of Scotland. He is known to have witnessed many charters as early as about 1127–1128, and is the first Clan Gr ...

, who founded

Clan Graham Clan Graham (''Greumaich nan Cearc'' ) is a Scottish clan who had territories in both the Scottish Highlands and Lowlands, with one main branch Montrose, and various cadet branches. The chief of the clan rose to become the Marquess and later ...

. Variant spellings of the forename are ''Grahame'' and ''Graeme''. The forename ''Graham'' is considered to be an English and Scottish given name. Its origin as a surname has led to its occasional use as a female given name, as for example in the case of Graham Cockburn, a daughter of

Henry Cockburn, Lord Cockburn Henry Thomas Cockburn of Bonaly, Lord Cockburn ( ; Cockpen, Midlothian, 26 October 1779 – Bonaly, Midlothian, 26 April/18 July 1854) was a Scottish lawyer, judge and literary figure. He served as Solicitor General for Scotland between 1830 and ...

References

External links

* English masculine given names English-language masculine given names Given names originating from a surname Scottish masculine given names {{given-name-stub