10,048 Global EAMES Family Members

EAMES Family History

This surname may be of Anglo-Saxon origin, and as such would come from the Old English 'eam' meaning 'uncle', a term of endearment given to a kindly older man or friend, or an ancestor who was a child's father figure. It may, similarly, have derived from the Old French nickname 'ami', meaning friend. Other theories suggest it could potentially have derived from the personal name 'Emma', and would therefore mean 'son of Emma', or from the personal name 'Amos'.

The surname appears to have been first recorded in 1280 when a John Eame was recorded on the 1280 Records of St. Bartholomew's Hospital, London.

In the UK where Eames is mainly associated with England, it was by 1851 seen in the southern half of the country, most notably in Hertfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Bedfordshire, London, although it was not confined to those counties.

Although not high in number, there was nevertheless an interesting Eames surname cluster in Wales, predominantly seen in the north western corner of the country. This cluster had become particularly evident by the 19th century in Caernarvonshire and parts of Merionethshire.

Notable people

• Aled Eames (1921–1996), Welsh historian and author. Born in Llandudno, he was an expert on Welsh merchant shipping of the 18th and 19th centuries, and wrote and broadcast on Welsh maritime history.
• Marion Eames (1921–2007). Born in Birkenhead to Welsh parents, she was a Welsh language author, best known for her novel Y Stafell Ddirgel which narrated the story of a community of Quakers from Merionethshire who suffered persecution during the 17th century, and their experiences in Pennsylvania to where they eventually fled.

 

SOURCES:

A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames (1896) by Charles Wareing Endell Bardsley

Surnames (1857) by Bernard Homer Dixon