Denham
A locational surname meaning “from Denham,” a name borne from several English places called Denham.
The #4,355 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 37,855 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Denham is an English place-name surname. The name comes from a settlement name formed from Old English elements, usually explained as either dēn or denu meaning “valley” and hām meaning “homestead” or “village,” so the sense is “homestead in a valley” or “village in a valley.” In surname use, it simply marked someone as coming from one of the places called Denham.
History
Medieval records in the excerpts show people styled “de Denham” in Norfolk, Somerset, and elsewhere, confirming early locational use. Bardsley and Lower both treat it as a place-based surname, though Lower points readers to related forms and Bardsley notes multiple parish names. The surname remains best known in England and later spread through English-speaking countries.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Several English parishes called Denham helped create the surname, so unrelated families could independently adopt the same name.
From the historical record
“Dendj'. See Dawnay. DENHAM. Parishes in cos. Suffolk and Bucks. DENIAL. " Martha Denial, widow, set. 75, was buried in Ecclesfield churchyard, Srd Feb. 1851. Her husband, Joseph De- nial, told the parish clerk that his grand- father was found when an infant deserted in a church-porch, and that he was sur- named…”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom