Ledingham- Background
Administrators
Surnames
Leadingham, Ledingham
Background
Requirements:
A surname project traces members of a family that share a common surname. Since surnames are passed down from father to son like the Y-chromosome, this test is for males taking a Y-DNA test.
Females do not carry their father's Y-DNA and acquire a new surname by way of marriage, so the tested individual must be a male that wants to check his direct paternal line (father's father's father's...) with a Y-DNA37, or Y-DNA67 marker test. Females who would like to check their direct paternal line can have a male relative with this surname order a Y-DNA test.
ORIGINS OF THE SURNAME LEDINGHAM
INTRODUCTION
The earliest reference to the origins of the Ledingham name, which I have been able to find, is from a book which I discovered in the village library where I live in Kemnay, Aberdeenshire. The book is about the history of this area and is called "Inverurie and the Earldom of the Garioch" by Reverend John Davidson and was published in 1878AD, [Ref.1]. In this book Rev. Davidson indicates that the lands of Lodhgavel [which was later changed to the name Ledingham] and Malinside in the parish of Culsalmond in the area of Aberdeenshire known as the Garioch were granted to the Abbey of Lindores in Fife in the year 1195AD. This information comes from a Papal Bull [a written pronouncement] issued by Pope Celestine the third in that year, [Ref.2].
It would appear that the land belonged at that time to David, the Earl of Huntingdon who was the son of Prince Henry and brother of King William the First of Scotland. David appears to have founded the Abbey of Lindores in that year. Davidson does not make it clear when the Ledingham name was first used instead of Lodhgavel or why the change of name took place. The following paper represents my efforts to date in my search for this information and my suggestions as to the origins of the surname. My research is by no means complete as yet but I hope that the information which follows will be of interest to those who are curious about how the family name got started.
In 1291AD a further Papal Bull was issued referring to the earlier pronouncement but this time from Pope Nicholas IV, [Ref.3]. In this proclamation he confirms the granting of land in various parts of Scotland to the Abbey of Lindores in Fife, including Lodhgavel in the Garioch. This does not mean of course that the name Lodhgavel continued to be used in this part of the country up to this time since the Papal Bull may only have used the original names for places as given in the original text and the name Ledingham, or something like it may already have been in use at an earlier date than 1291AD by the people in the area itself.
FIRST MENTION OF NAME
The first written reference I have been able to find to a name like Ledingham however is in 1594AD in a volume of the Register of the Great Seal of Scotland, which is a complete record of all charters and legal agreements passed by the Kings and Queens of Scotland from 1306AD to the Union of Scotland and England in 1707AD.
In 1594AD the name Lethinghame appears instead of Lodhgavel in describing the area of land referred to above in a charter dated the 2nd. October signed at “ Halyrudhous” [ Holyrood House] in the reign of King James VI of Scotland,[Ref.4]. In this document, which is in Latin in keeping with all such documents of the time, the lands of Lethinghame and other property previously given to the Abbey of Lindores are given to a Joannis Gordoun of “Newtoun da Culsalmond” and his male heirs.
On the 31st. March, 1600AD a further charter [Ref.5] was signed in Edinburgh granting the feudal rights of land called Ledinghame to a Patrick Leslie and his male heirs in the Presbytery of Alford [which takes in the parish of the Garioch].
In 1610AD on the 2nd. August reference is made in the Register [Ref 6] to a croft in the parish of Inverurie occupied by an Alexander Ledinghame and a William Gavan. In 1613AD, on the 30th. July reference is again made to the same croft, [Ref.7] and to the same Alexander Ledinghame and a William Gawane, [ presumably Gavan]. Further reference is made on the 4th. April 1620AD to the same croft and to the same occupiers except that Gavan is now spelt Gawan [Ref.8]. It was quite common for surnames to be spelt differently by different scribes and for names to change over time as can also be seen in the different spellings of the Ledingham name itself.
On the 22nd December, 1662AD the names Miekle and Little Lethingham appear in a charter signed in Edinburgh under the Great Seal of Scotland granting these lands amongst others to a Sir John Strauchan [Ref.9].
Finally the names Miekle and Little Leddinghames appear in a further charter dated September the 7th.1666AD granting these lands to a George Skeyne [Ref.10].
MAP AND HISTORICAL REFERENCES
The name Ledingham however appears on Robert Gordon`s map of this area published in 1640AD [Ref.11] and 1654AD [Ref.12] but on later maps of the area around 1800AD the name changed to the local colloquiall spelling " Ledikin". There are still farms around the village of Insch, near Inverurie called East Ledikin, West Ledikin etc
In 1696AD a poll tax was levied in Scotland to help pay for the cost of maintaining an army and to pay off government debts. Every household in Aberdeenshire was recorded and a list compiled of those due to pay the tax along with the amount paid by them. Only beggars and children under 16 years escaped paying the tax.
In 1844AD a group of far sighted individuals, who formed the Spalding Club in Aberdeen, published the complete list of these names in two volumes as one of a number of important historical records about this area [Ref.13]. In this record there are a total of 38 people with the name Ledingham or Ledinghame including husbands and wives. If wives are excluded there are only 20 adult males with this surname, living mainly near Insch in the parishes of Oyne, Leslie, Premnay and Daviot. This suggests to me that the family name may only have existed in this part of the world therefore for a fairly short time prior to 1696AD. I shall return to this issue later in this paper.
PLACE NAMESAND SURNAMES
In looking at various books on the place names and surnames of Scotland reference is made to the name Ledingham having Gaelic roots. In “Celtic Place-Names in Aberdeenshire” by John Milne, published in 1912 [Ref.14] he suggests that the place-name Ledikin [which appeared around 1800AD] may have been called Leathgayn in 1366AD and Ledingham in 1660AD. Leathgayn he suggests comes from Leathad a’ Ghabhainn meaning “hillside where there was a fold”. About 1800AD he says that the family name Ledingham changed to Ledikin.
In James MacDonald’s book” the Place Names of West Aberdeenshire”, published in 1899AD, [Ref.15] he refers to Ledikin in the parish of Culsalmond being known as Lethinghame in 1644AD and Ledinghame in 1600AD. He goes on to suggest that the name derives from Leideag or Leideagan and is, he says, a common name for fields, especially those on the outskirts of farms in the West Highlands. He also quotes an authority on the Gaelic language, a Professor Mackinnon as saying that although the two words appear very similar he is not prepared to say that they are the same.
In George F. Black’s book” The Surnames of Scotland” published in 1946 [Ref.16], Black repeats the information given previously by MacDonald but also gives examples of the name appearing in 1574AD as Ledinghame, in 1603AD as Liddinghame and in 1798AD as Ledingham. He also suggests that in the area called Mar in Aberdeenshire in the 17th. century, Ledigan was the form of the name. He then goes on to mention Professor Mackinnon and his comparison of the name Ledikin with the Gaelic Leideagan but he does not mention Professor Mackinnon’s unwillingness to commit him-self that the two words are the same!
In David Dorward’s book, “Scottish Surnames”, published in 2000AD [Ref17] Dorward indicates that although the name Ledingham is similar in construction to English names such as Birmingham or Nottingham the name in fact originates in Aberdeenshire and probably comes from the Gaelic word Leideagan, meaning “outlying fields”. He then refers to examples given above in Black’s book and says that the name is still very much a Northeast Scotland name and is uncommon elsewhere.
Dorward also suggests that the Scottish surnames Cunningham and Fotheringham came into being as a result of anglophile scribes altering the ending of the two names to make them more English. In the case of Cunningham he suggests that this name was originally Cunegan and came from the name of a district in Ayrshire to which a scribe added the “ham” ending. From there the name spread to other parts of the country.
In the case of Fotheringham Dorward indicates that this name was originally Fortheringhay, the name of an estate in Northamptonshire, famous as the prison for a period of time of Mary Queen of Scots. The name he states later acquired the characteristically English suffix “ingham” through a process, which he describes in a letter to me of “re-interpretation”. What he says happened was that the scribes of the day sometimes misread territorial names and substituted the more familiar English ending to the name. This may have been deliberate on the part of the scribe or due to names being spelt phonetically as happened in those days. As indicated previously it was not uncommon for names to change over time. Someone could be recorded as being born or Christened with one spelling of the surname, married under a different spelling and finally buried using a third spelling.
Whilst I appreciate that I do not have the background in History or Linguistics which these various authors may have, I wonder if too great an emphasis has been put by these writers on the similarity of Ledikin and Leideagan and to suggest that since this name has Gaelic origins the surname Ledingham, which was the earlier version of the surname, is also Gaelic in origin. Since the name Ledikin did not appear until about 1800AD according to most writers and the name Ledingham appears on maps and various texts from 1600AD onwards I do not see why the name Ledingham should also be Gaelic in origin. I am not sure therefore about Dorward’s suggestions as to the origins of names ending in “ingham” and wonder if there might be another explanation.
SAXON ORIGINS?
It could be that the name Ledingham is not Celtic or Gaelic in origin but is in fact Saxon. The "ingham" bit of the name is found in a number of places especially in England, as indicated by Dorward above and which are associated with Saxon history, eg. Birmingham and Nottingham. According to Kenneth O. Morgan in The Oxford History of Britain [Ref.18] the"ing" bit of the name seems to mean the "tribe" or "people" and the "ham" bit means the "homestead of". Ledingham would seem to mean therefore "the homestead of Led`s people", Led being the name of the chief of the tribe or group of people. The earliest Saxon use of these terms could go back to 300AD but could also have been introduced any time up to 1000AD.
There is evidence that there was a place called " Ledeneham" in Lincolnshire in 1086AD as it is mentioned in the Doomsday Book [Ref19]. This place is now called "Leadenham" but there does not seem to be all that many families with that name in Lincolnshire or indeed Ledingham, Lednum or other variations on the name.
Based on my initial research I thought that there were two possibilities as to how the Ledingham surname came to be associated with the North-East of Scotland. In the first scenario I thought that sometime before 1195AD there might have been a movement of one or more people called Ledeneham,or something similar, from Lincolnshire or thereabouts to the Garioch and that it might have had something to do with the Scottish nobility and their efforts to colonise this part of the world with Saxon and other non -Celtic families which took place at that time. This colonisation process is refered to in the book by Rev. Davidson and other texts eg. Scotland before 1500AD by Sidney Wood [Ref.20] and A History of Aberdeen and Banff by William Watt [Ref21].
It would appear from my research that the Scottish nobility after 1093AD or thereabouts were very friendly towards the Normans, who had been gradually extending their influence and presence in Britain following their invasion in 1066AD. The Scottish kings David 1,[1124-1153AD], William 1,[1153-1165AD] and Malcolm IV,[1165-1214AD] in particular brought Norman knights to Scotland where they were given land. David, the Earl of Huntingdon, already owned the land called Lodhgavel and other territory in this area by the year 1195AD. He may therefore have brought Norman as well as Saxon families to settle in this area as they had skills which the Earl needed such as blacksmiths and armourers, of which more later.
As I indicated earlier however if the first Ledingham arrived in the area around 1195AD then I would have expected a higher number of families to have been recorded for Poll Tax purposes in 1696AD. Based on the assumption that one male child was born every few years and survived long enough to have children of his own I think that there would have been a considerable number of Ledinghams in the Garioch by 1696AD. Of course disease and infant mortality might have reduced the population of the area and led to a smaller number of people with this surname by this date but as yet I have not come across anything in my research which would suggest such events. This suggests to me therefore that it was not David , the Earl of Huntingdon who brought the first Ledingham into the Garioch around 1195AD and that we must look elsewhere as to the origin of the family name.
Interestingly Dorward, in referring to the origins of other Scottish surnames, which incorporate the Saxon “ingham”, has made a number of observations about the name Fotheringham which may be of relevance to the origins of the Ledingham surname. He indicates that the Fotheringhay estate was in the hands of the Scottish Royal family in the 12th. century as part of the lands belonging to a second Earl of Huntingdon who in 1331AD was crowned King David II of Scotland at the tender age of seven. There followed a particularly savage period in Scottish history, which saw David II exiled to France for several years and the captive house guest of Edward III in England for several others. Dorward indicates however that when David II returned to Scotland in 1357AD he rewarded his previous English neighbours with lands in Scotland. Henry de Fodringhay was granted lands near Dundee and various friends and relatives were granted lands in Angus and elsewhere. It may be therefore that it was not the first Earl of Huntingdon who was instrumental in introducing the Ledingham name into this area but his descendent who became King of Scotland and also brought Anglo-Saxon and Norman families into different parts of Scotland. As yet I have not had time to follow up Dorward’s information but will do so in due course and amend this paper accordingly.
LINCOLNSHIRE CONNECTION?
In the meantime I have also just received information from Canada from an organisation which advertises family history information on the internet at www.traceit.com [Ref.22]. In their Certificate showing the origins of the Ledingham name The Hall of Names state that the name originates from Lincolnshire and is descended from the tenants of the lands of Leadenham which according to their research of the Doomsday Book were held in 1086AD by Colegrim and Derinc from a Count Alan and consisted of two churches and half a mill. They go on to say that the surname Ledingham emerged as a notable family name in the county of Lincolnshire and that a Hugh de Ledenham succeeded to the estate in 1200AD. They also indicate that another Hugh de Ledenham was recorded in 1302AD as owning land and estates in Lincoln. Another name which they say was significant in Lincolnshire at this time was the Lednum family which suggests that further research should be initiated into how this branch of the family survived and developed. From an examination of the most recently published telephone directories for Lincolnshire there are however no families with the surname Lednum, seven with the surname Ledenham and one Ledingham. It would appear therefore that if the Ledingham name originated in Lincolnshire and then moved to Aberdeenshire this took place well before the telephone was invented. Several other variations of the Ledingham name are also put forward by the Hall of Names as they indicate that scribes tended to record and spell names as they sounded and this could change over time as indicated previously. To research these variations will take a wee while but it is my intention to follow up these leads and to report on my findings in due course.
The Hall of Names does however suggest how the Ledingham family came to leave Lincolnshire and arrive in Scotland. They indicate that during the time of the Norman Kings there were many feudal rebellions. Many Barons and their families moved away from their estates to get away from royal influence “ even into Scotland”. Unfortunately the Hall of Names put these events as taking place during the 12th. century which does not seem to fit with the number of Ledinghams recorded in 1696AD in Aberdeenshire. It may be of course that there was a later movement of Ledinghams or Lednums from Lincolnshire to Aberdeenshire which would account for the number of families in this part of the world at that time. If this was around 1357AD when King David II returned to Scotland and rewarded his English friends with lands in Scotland then the number of Ledinghams found to be in Aberdeenshire in 1696AD might be realistic. For there to be only 20 males in Aberdeenshire at this time would suggest however that the family did not reproduce at a significant rate which is a bit unusual for those times when big families were the norm. Obviously there is room for further research into this whole subject which will also take a wee while to complete. I will report on this work in due course.
BLACKSMITHS IN THE FAMILY
In the meantime I would like to draw attention to a fact which may have significance when considering the origins of the Ledingham name. When I look back through my own ancestors it is quite remarkable how many of the men were blacksmiths. Whilst this might not be the case all the way back to I357AD I would suggest that it might well have been the Earl of Huntingdon, King David II who was instrumental in bringing a Saxon blacksmith called Leadenham or something similar from Lincolnshire to Aberdeenshire. It could be of course that the Ledingham family were introduced to this area by another Scottish or Norman nobleman or that they got here under there own steam at another time but I like to think that it was King David II around 1357AD who was responsible for bringing our family to this part of Scotland. Of course I have no proof to back up these suggestions and I need to do a lot more research before I could say positively that this is the origin of the family name. In the meantime my efforts may provide encouragement to others to start their own investigations and who knows what we might discover.
CONCLUSION
So there you have it, or just about. Further research I conducted would seem to suggest that the Saxons were brought originally to Britain by the Romans who used them as mercenaries around the year 400AD. There is a possibility however that some Saxons had already made their home in Britain before that time as Saxon invaders had already been involved in various battles with the natives before the Romans arrived. This information comes from "The Oxford History of Britain" edited by Kenneth O. Morgan [Ref.23]. This text also seems to me to confirm the information about the Saxon origin of the Ledingham name.
As yet I have not had time to go back beyond 1780 in my search for my own family roots. In that year a John Ledingham married Jean Weir at Kirkton of Premnay near Insch in Aberdeenshire. In due course I hope to trace my roots to an earlier member of the Ledingham family but in the meantime I hope you will find the above information of interest.
KEN LEDINGHAM
KEMNAY
17/09/2001
REFERENCES
1. Inverurie and the Earldom of the Garioch, Davidson, John, Rev., pub. by A.Brown & co.,1878.
2. Bull of Pope Celestine III, 1195, Antiquities of the Shires of Aberdeen and Banff, pub. By the Spalding Club, Aberdeen, 1862.
3. Bull of Pope Nicholas IV, 1291, ibid.
4. Charter no. 172, 2nd. October, 1584, Register of the Great Seal of Scotland, editor James B. Paul, pub. by Clark Constable, 1984.
5. Charter no 1032, 31st. March, 1600, ibid.
6. Charter no 355, 2nd. August, 1610, ibid.
7. Charter no. 899, 30th. July, 1613, ibid.
8. Charter no.13, 4th. April, 1620, ibid.
9. Charter no. 332, 22nd. December, 1662, ibid.
10. Charter no. 967, 7th. September, 1666, ibid.
11. Map by Robert Gordon of Strathloch, 1640, National Library of Scotland, 2001.
12. Map by Robert Gordon of Strathloch, 1654, Collection for a history of the Shires of Aberdeen and Banff, editor Joseph Robertson, pub. by the Spalding Club, Aberdeen, 1843.
13. List of Pollable Persons within the Shire of Aberdeen, 1696, volume one, pub by the Spalding Club, Aberdeen, 1844.
14. Celtic Place-names in Aberdeenshire, Milne, John, pub. by Aberdeen Daily Journals,1912.
15 The Place Names of West Aberdeenshire, McDonald, James, pub. by the Spalding Club, Aberdeen, 1899.
16. The Surnames of Scotland, Black, George F., pub. by New York Public Library, 1965.
17. Scottish Surnames, Dorward, David, pub by Collins, 2000.
18. The Oxford Illustrated History of Britain, Morgan, Kenneth O., Guild Publishing, London, 1985.
19. The Doomsday Book, www.domesdaybook.co.uk/places.html, 2001.
20. Scottish Life before 1500, Wood, S ydney, pub. by Cheltenham:Stanley Thornes, 1995.
21. A History of Aberdeen and Banff, Watt, William, pub by William Blackwood & Sons, 1900.
22. Hall of Names International, Kingston, Ontario, Canada, www.traceit.com
23. The Oxford Illustrated History of Britain, Morgan, Kenneth O., Guild Publishing, London, 1985.
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