Everingham - Name

This is an ancient English surname. It is locational and originates from the village of Everingham in the East Riding of the county of Yorkshire. This village is first recorded as early as the year 972 a.d. in the famous Anglo-Saxon Chronicles. The name means "The place of the Eofor people", a local tribe of some significance. Locational surnames were originally given either to the lord of the manor and his descendants, or to former villagers, who for whatever reason, left their original homes and moved elsewhere. One of the easiest ways to identify a stranger was to call him or ocassionally her, by the name of their former home. Spelling being at best problematical, and local dialects very thick, often lead to the development of 'sounds like' spellings. In this case the first recording is far from Everingham, Adam de Everingham being recorded in the Hundred Rolls of the city of Nottingham in the year 1273, although another Adam Everingham is recorded in the village of Laxton, also East Yorkshire in 1334, when his daughter Margaret, was christened there. The name has always been well recorded in its native county, and examples of these recordings taken from early surviving church registers include those of Baldrini Everingham, whose daughter Maria, was christened at Darrington on September 12th 1599, and later John and Martha Everingham, who were married at Hallgate Zion Independant church, Cottingham, on September 29th 1757.