Brittingham
A surname most likely meaning “Britton’s homestead” or “Brittan’s settlement,” from an English place-name pattern.
The #8,875 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 83,694 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Brittingham is an English-looking surname built on the common place-name ending -ham, from Old English hām meaning “homestead” or “village.” The first element is likely a personal name or byname such as Britta/Britton, though the exact source is not certain. In that sense, the name probably began as a locational surname for someone who came from a place called something like Brittingham or from a settlement associated with that family or name.
History
The surname is relatively uncommon and is best known in English-speaking countries, especially the United States. It may have arisen from a minor English place-name that was later carried abroad by emigrants, or from a surname formed independently from that place-name pattern. Because the name is rare, its earliest documented history is harder to trace than for more common English surnames.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The ending -ham is one of the most common clues to old English place-based surnames, and it often points to a very old settlement name.