English (mainly southwestern England): variant spelling of
Hamm.
French: habitational name from any of the various
places in northern France (Ardennes, Pas-de-Calais, Somme, Moselle)
named with the Germanic word ham ‘meadow in the bend of a
river’, ‘water meadow’, ‘flood plain’.
Korean: there is only one Chinese character
for the Ham surname. Some sources report that there are sixty
different Ham clans, but only the Kangnung Ham clan can be
documented. Although some records have been lost and a few generations
are unaccounted for, it is known that the founding ancestor of the Ham
clan is Ham Kyu, a Koryo general who fought against the Mongol
invaders in the thirteenth century. His ancestor, Ham Hyok, was a
Tang Chinese general who stayed in Korea after Tang China helped
Shilla unify the peninsula during the seventh century. Another of Ham
Hyok’s ancestors, Ham Shin, accompanied Kim Chu-won, the
founding ancestor of the Kangnung Kim family, to the Kangnung
area, and hence the Ham clan became the Kangnung Ham clan. The
first prominent ancestor from Kangnung whose genealogy can be
verified is Ham Kyu, the Koryo general. Accordingly, he is
regarded as the Kangnung Ham clan’s founding ancestor.
Dictionary of American Family Names, Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-508137-4
Start your FREE family tree. Who will you discover?
A family tree is the easiest way to start discovering your family history. To begin, just enter whatever you know and we'll use that to try and find more information for you.
Begin your family tree with your name:
The ham name in History
A unique volume of fascinating facts, statistics and commentary following the ham family name as far back in history as possible.
Member Connections
Anonymously contact one of the Ancestry members researching the ham last name.