Billingham

Billingham One-Name Study

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Study details

Study: Billingham

Variants: Bellingham, Billinghame

Category: 3 - A study where research using core genealogical datasets and transcriptions is well under way on a global basis.

Contact: Mr Gary Billingham

About the study

I started my Billingham one name study in 1987 and joined the Guild in 1998. I have since amassed files of information and drawn up over 100 different family trees. Although I now live in Australia, thanks to the internet and availability of electonic sources such as CDs I can easily access new information to add to my research.

I welcome any comments, questions and extra information to add to this research.

Variant names

Because of the numerous errors in written records between Billingham & Bellingham I decided to expand the study to include Bellingham. The written e & i is easily mistaken. There is also a Billinghame variant which emerged in the 1850s in the north of England, but which has largely died out.

Name origin

Thought to originated from the Billas tribe, and the old English word 'hame' meaning home, hence home of the Billas tribe. Some of the earliest records of the name are found in the north east of England in County Durham, around the town of Billingham. There is mention of a knight Sir Roger de Billingham in the 14/15th century in the County.

Other early concentrations are in an area around the town of Newent in Glous, and in various villages to the west of Northampton, eg Harpole, Flore, Kislingbury.

Historical occurrences of the name

Noteworthy Billinghams have included Rupert Everett Billingham, a pioneering heart surgeon; Jack Billingham, a top US baseball player in the 1960s-70s; Mark Billingham, actor, commedian & writer; and John Billingham, Lord Mayor of Cape Town. Prominent Bellinghams include farmer John Bellingham, the only man to assinate a British Prime Minister, Spencer Percival in 1812, and actress Linda Bellingham (although that is not her actual birth surname).

Name frequency

There have been around 9000 Billingham births, since 1837 in England and Wales, but very few in Scotland. Outside of the UK, the largest numbers can be found in the USA, particularly Florida, Australia , Canada & New Zealand.

Distribution of the name

Billingham is chiefly found in the Black County area of the West Midlands of England, particularly between Stourbridge and Dudley (37%); Birmingham, West Bromwich, Walsall (12%); Northamptonshire (25%); Lancashire (9%); Gloucestershire & South Wales (7%); Yorkshire (4%); London (3%). Bellingham is chiefly found in the south east of England, including Sussex, Kent & south-east London, and Shropshire.

Data

I have collected all the public registers birth, deaths & marriages since 1837, with details of parents and spouses where known, details of wills since 1858, with some earlier. Parish record details, Census details 1841-1911 particularly from the Black Country are covered, with many gravestone inscriptions.

DNA

I have taken DNA tests with both Ancestry and Find My Past , as well as the Y chromosome . Results so far have been disappointing, with no other Billingham matches to date (May 2020).

Links

Check out Colin Billingham's excellent website 'Billinghams of Cradley Heath'.

Contact Details

Mr Gary Billingham

General Search Results

Occurrences of the surname Billingham in the Guild Indexes

(Click on the number to view the search results in each index. Indexes marked by * are only accessible by logged in Guild members.)

Global Marriages (public) 366
Global Marriages (members)* 371
Inscriptions Index 2
Probate Index* 13
References to the name Billingham in the Guild Journal 1

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