Bentam Last Name: Meaning and Heraldic Roots

Spelling was not fixed until the modern era, so Bentham could easily become Bentam. The name is habitational, pointing to “from Bentham, in North Yorkshire”.

Bentam drops the “h” of Bentham, a simplification that clerks often made. Spellings drifted because names were written down by ear in parish books, tax rolls and passenger lists. The same family of names includes Benthem.

Arms linked to Bentham and its spellings were granted to individual families; our heraldry team traces which line they belonged to. For the full story, order the Bentam surname pack.