Isham
A locational surname from Isham in Northamptonshire, England, once meaning a settlement by the River Ise (often written Isis in older sources).
The #7,988 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 74,594 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Isham is a place-based surname taken from the village of Isham in Northamptonshire. Older references connect the place name with the River Ise, giving the sense of a settlement by the river. The spelling and explanation vary in 19th-century sources, but the surname is clearly tied to the English place-name rather than to a personal name or occupation.
History
The surname was borne by a family established at Isham and at Lamport after the Norman Conquest, which helped keep the place-name in use as a family name. Later spellings such as Isam, Isom, and related forms appear in historical records, reflecting normal variation before spelling was standardized. The name is still found today, though it is relatively uncommon.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
One old source glosses the place as the town on the River Isis, but other scholars tie it more generally to the River Ise in Northamptonshire.
From the historical record
“cient name of Islington, near Loudon. ISHAM. A place in the hundred of Orlingbui-y, co. Northampton, -where an elder branch of the existing family, Isham of Lamport, were seated soon after the Con- quest. Shirley's Noble and Gentle Men. ISLIP. Parishes in cos. Oxford and Northampton. ISNARD. The name Isanhard…”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom