Heather Witham

(female) From the vocabulary word denoting the hardy, brightly coloured plant (Middle English hather; the spelling was altered in the 18th century as a result of folk etymological association with heath). The name was first used in the late 19th century and became particularly popular from the mid-1940s.

English: habitational name from any of various places so called. North and South Witham in Lincolnshire derive the name from the river on which they stand, which is of ancient British origin and uncertain meaning. Witham on the Hill in Lincolnshire, along with other examples in Essex and Somerset, was probably originally named with an Old English byname Wit(t)a (presumably from wit(t) ‘wits’, ‘mind’) + Old English hām ‘homestead’. However, the first element may instead have been Old English wiht ‘bend’.