(male) Probably the most successful of all the Old French names of Germanic origin that were introduced to England by the Normans. It is derived from Germanic wil ‘will, desire’ + helm ‘helmet, protection’. The fact that it was borne by the Conqueror himself does not seem to have inhibited its favour with the ‘conquered’ population: in the first century after the Conquest it was the commonest male name of all, and not only among the Normans. In the later Middle Ages it was overtaken by John, but continued to run second to that name until the 20th century, when the picture became more fragmented.
Short forms: Will, Bill.
Pet forms: Willy, Willie, Billy.
Cognates: Irish: Uilliam. Scottish Gaelic: Uilleam. Welsh: Gwilym. German: Wilhelm. Dutch: Willem. Scandinavian: Vilhelm. French: Guillaume. Spanish: Guilermo. Catalan: Guillem. Portuguese: Guilherme. Italian: Guglielmo. Czech: Vilém. Slovenian: Viljem. Hungarian: Vilmos. Lithuanian: Vilhelmas. Latvian: Vilhelms.
English: habitational name from a place in Nottinghamshire called Bingham, from an unattested Old English clan name, Binningas, or an Old English word bing ‘(a) hollow’ + Old English hām ‘homestead’. The name is also established in Ireland.
Jewish (American): Americanized form of various like-sounding habitational names such as Bingenheimer.
FOREBEARS The Bingham family of Melcombe Bingham in Dorset can trace their descent back to Robert de Bingham, recorded in 1273, who probably came from Bingham in Nottinghamshire. His descendants included the Earls of Lucan. A branch of the family was established in Ireland, where they gave their name to Binghamstown in County Mayo. Sir Richard Bingham (c. 1528–99) was Marshal of Ireland. Charles Bingham (1735–99) was created earl of Lucan in 1795.William Bingham, born in Philadelphia in 1752, was a prominent land speculator and founder of the Bank of North America in 1781. Hiram Bingham, born in Bennington, VT, in 1789, was a missionary to the Sandwich Islands (Hawaii).
