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ArchivesRe: Meaning of Whitlam
in reply to a message by Shae
Whitlam is an English surname from Middle English forms of the words "white lamb." It is uncertain why this became a surname; it could originally have been a nickname for an inoffensive or mild-mannered person, or it may have originally been a "house name" from a house marked with a sign featuring a white lamb, during the time before house numbering systems were invented.
This information is from Hanks & Hodges's A Dictionary of Surnames, verified by Reaney & Wilson's A Dictionary of English Surnames.
This information is from Hanks & Hodges's A Dictionary of Surnames, verified by Reaney & Wilson's A Dictionary of English Surnames.
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As far as we know from records going back to the fourteenth century our family comes from Nottinghamshire. The family name is derived from the name of a location, in our case, from a lost place in Markham Clinton, alias Little or West Markham (Notts.). The place is called WHITELUM (Old English HWIT ‘white’+ LUM ‘pool’). An early relative was Richard de Whytelom of Milneton mentioned in 1301 the “Inquisitions post Mortem (West Markham”.
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