Hamey History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

Etymology of Hamey

What does the name Hamey mean?

Hamey is a name of ancient Anglo-Saxon origin and comes from the family once having lived in the county of Sussex, England in an area that was known by the low-lying land near a stream. 1 The surname Hamey was originally derived from the Old English word hamme, or hamm which also has patronymic origins.

There is a Norman connection with this name too. There we found the name was derived from the Castle of Ham, Normandy. William du Hamm was listed in Normandy in 1180-98 and the same reference lists William and Alexander de Ham in England c.1272. 2

Finally, the name could have been derived from Ham who according to the Table of Nations in the Book of Genesis, was the second son of Noah and the father of Cush, Mizraim, Phut and Canaan.

Early Origins of the Hamey family

The surname Hamey was first found in Sussex where one of the first records of the name was Robert de la Hamme who was listed in the Hundredorum Rolls of 1275. The same reference also includes: John de Hamme in Wiltshire; and William de Hamme in Cambridge. 1 Johannes Hamme was listed in the Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379 and in Somerset, we found: Alice de Hamme; John atte Ham; Martin atte Ham; and Juliana in le Hame. All entries were 1 Edward III (during the first year of King Edwrad III's reign.) 3

Early History of the Hamey family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Hamey research. Another 224 words (16 lines of text) covering the years 1275, 1296, 1433, 1568, 1600, 1610, 1617, 1640, 1676, 1776, 1812 and 1864 are included under the topic Early Hamey History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Hamey Spelling Variations

Sound was what guided spelling in the essentially pre-literate Middle Ages, so one person's name was often recorded under several variations during a single lifetime. Also, before the advent of the printing press and the first dictionaries, the English language was not standardized. Therefore, spelling variations were common, even among the names of the most literate people. Known variations of the Hamey family name include Ham, Hamm, Hame, Hamey and others.

Early Notables of the Hamey family

Notables of this surname at this time include:

John Ham, English Member of Parliament MP for New Shoreham, West Sussex in 1433. Baldwin Hamey the Elder, M.D. (1568-1640), was an English physician, descended from Odo de Hame, who served under the C...
Baldwin Hamey the Younger, M.D. (1600-1676), was an English physician, eldest son of Baldwin Hamey [q. v.], M.D., born in London 24 April 1600, and entered at the University of Leyden as a student of...

Hamey migration to the United States +

For political, religious, and economic reasons, thousands of English families boarded ships for Ireland, Canada, the America colonies, and many of smaller tropical colonies in the hope of finding better lives abroad. Although the passage on the cramped, dank ships caused many to arrive in the New World diseased and starving, those families that survived the trip often went on to make valuable contributions to those new societies to which they arrived. Early immigrants bearing the Hamey surname or a spelling variation of the name include:

Hamey Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Mr. Richard Hamey, aged 36, who arrived in Virginia in 1635 aboard the ship "Assurnace" 4

Hamey Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Geo Hamey, who arrived in Virginia in 1717 5

Hamey Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Bridgt Hamey, aged 12, who arrived in New York in 1854 5
Darby Hamey, aged 30, who landed in New York in 1854 5

Sources +

Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
The Norman People and Their Existing Descendants in the British Dominions and the United States Of America. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing, 1975. Print. (ISBN 0-8063-0636-X)
Dickinson, F.H., Kirby's Quest for Somerset of 16th of Edward the 3rd London: Harrison and Sons, Printers in Ordinary to Her Majesty, St, Martin's Lane, 1889. Print.
Pilgrim Ship's of 1600's. Retrieved January 6th 2023 from https://www.packrat-pro.com/ships/shiplist.htm
Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)