Surname Barteram - Meaning and Origin
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Barteram: What does the surname Barteram mean?
The last name Barteram originated from the middle English word "barteram," which means to barter or to trade. Barteram is a habitational surname, meaning that it originated from a place. This place is believed to be located in the town of Barrow in Lancashire in northern England.
Barrow is a small town with an interesting history. It is believed to be a significant hub for Anglo-Saxon settlement in the late 5th century. During the late medieval period, it was a center for fair trade and bartering goods. People likely adopted the last name Barteram to indicate their profession of trading and bartering goods.
Today, the last name is quite rare. Because of the limited records available, the genealogy of this surname is difficult to trace back from its ancient Anglo-Saxon origins.
However, the ideas of fair trade and bartering goods remain just as important today as they were in Barrow, centuries ago. The last name Barteram stands as a testament to the value of engaging in trustworthy, mutually beneficial deals between individuals, as well as the value of good character and honesty.
Order DNA origin analysisBarteram: Where does the name Barteram come from?
The last name BARTERAM is most likely an English surname. There are limited records of it being found in the U.S. and U.K., so it appears to not be very common today. In the U.S., it is most concentrated in the state of Washington, where one U.S. Census in 2020 showed six people with the last name Barteram, but these may or may not be the same family. Two people with the name were in New York, two were in California, and one was in Illinois. In the U.K, the last name is more common, though still relatively rare. The most common locations for Barteram are Lancashire, London, Cambridgeshire, Warwickshire, and Lancashire.
The origin of the name Barteram is unknown, but it is believed to be related to a place name which may have had an old English or Norman origin. The Oxford Dictionary of Family Names in Britain and Ireland notes that it may be derived from the old English “bare”, meaning a clearing or plain as well as “ham” which may mean settlement; hence “bare-ham”, or clearing settlement.
As it is not a very common surname, it may be that there is only a handful of people with the name, and they are scattered across different parts of the world. However, it is possible that more people with the last name Barteram exist, and it could be that this is a part of a larger family, or that there are branches of the name throughout Europe and the U.S. - though this hasn’t been proven.
Variations of the surname Barteram
The surname Barteram is generally of English descent and origin. It was derived from the ancient Anglo-Saxon culture and is believed to be associated with the Olde English pre 7th Century word “Beorghere”, meaning ‘hill dweller’ or ‘hillman’.
The variants, spellings and surnames of the same origin as Barteram include: Barterman, Barterham, Bartram, Bartrim, Bartramm, Bartrarn, Barteramme, Bartrame, Bartramme, Bartrume, Barkthorn, Bortham, Borthom, Bergham, Birdam, and Burgum.
The Barteram surname is not found in many UK records. Aside from the records in England, a few records can be found in the United States. The Bartram surname is extremely prevalent in America, though there are various spellings.
In the US, there is particularly an abundance of records in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. There, records date from the mid 17th century when the first Bartram immigrants arrived. These British immigrants came from England, Scotland, and Wales, and the population spread throughout the American Northeast. While Barteram is very rare, the numerous variations of the Bartram surname have made it more widespread.
The Bartram and Barteram surnames are both associated with the hill dweller, and the origin of the name indicates that the original bearer probably lived in or near a hill. The multiplicity of spellings in the US may suggest a more recent origin, likely due to folk etymology and changes in pronunciation.
Famous people with the name Barteram
- Margaretha Zelle, better known as Mata Hari (1876-1917), the Dutch exotic dancer and courtesan who was executed for alleged espionage during World War I.
- James Bartram (1739-1823), a renowned botanist, explorer, and naturalist.
- Richard Bartram (1745-1830), an artist and art teacher who had a significant influence on European painting in the early 19th century.
- John Bartram (1699-1777), an American naturalist, botanist, and landscape designer who studied the flora of North America.
- Michael Bartram (1935-2015), an Australian educator and philanthropist.
- Samuel Bartram (1760-1829), a Quaker missionary who traveled thousands of miles across the Atlantic Ocean preaching the Gospel.
- Alfred Bartram (1837-1919), an English business owner and philanthropist who founded the Tottenham Infirmary in London.
- George Bartram (1863-1935), a British-born Canadian journalist and civil servant.
- Alfred Bartram-Allen (1880-1940), a British dermatologist and pioneer in his field.
- Bertram van Munster (1946-), an American television and film director and television producer.