English Place-name Society

Survey of English Place-Names

A county-by-county guide to the linguistic origins of England’s place-names – a project of the English Place-Name Society, founded 1923.

Newnham

Early-attested site in the Parish of Aston Cantlow

Historical Forms

  • Newehā 1086 DB
  • Newenham 1316 FA
  • Neuwenham 1327 SR
  • Newnam 1525 SR

Etymology

Newnham is Newehā 1086 DB, Newenham 1316 FA, Neuwenham 1327 SR, Newnam 1525SR . 'New ham.' “As for the name of this place, it proceeded originally (without doubt) from the first habitation fixed thereat; whether it were one Single House, or more, the syllable Ham with our Ancestors the Saxons, not merely signifying a House, but a neighbourhood of divers dwellings, as we may observe by the many towns that terminate in Ham ” (Dugdale 417).