Surname Birminghan - Meaning and Origin

Birminghan: What does the surname Birminghan mean?

The surname Birmingham likely has geographical roots, derived from the city of Birmingham in England. The name Birmingham itself is believed to have Old English origins. It is a combination of the words "Beormingas" (descendants or people of Beorma) and "ham" (home or settlement), which roughly translates to "home of the Beormingas." Beorma is an Anglo-Saxon personal name. Therefore, the surname Birmingham could likely denote a familial lineage or a geographical connection to the city of Birmingham. Like many last names, it was probably used to identify where an individual or a family was from. Please note that like any surname, individual family histories and meanings can vary.

Birminghan: Where does the name Birminghan come from?

The surname Birminghan is of Irish origin. It originated from the Gaelic name MacBeirnigh, and it was anglicized as Bermingham, Birminghan, or Birmingham. The family with this surname was established in the region of County Galway, Ireland, particularly in Athenry and Dunmore areas. The Birminghans were one of the fourteen tribes of Galway, an association of merchant families who dominated the political, commercial, and social life of the city of Galway during the late Middle Ages. Although Galway remained their main area of influence, the family spread to other parts of Ireland over time.

Despite its Irish roots, it may also be wrongly associated with the city of Birmingham in the United Kingdom, due to their phonetic similarity. Today, the surname is still found in Ireland, but like many Irish surnames, it can be found among the Irish diaspora in countries like the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia, due to historical emigration. Therefore, it is not particularly common in any specific region but rather distributed in areas where Irish emigrants have settled.

Variations of the surname Birminghan

The surname Birminghan is likely a variation of the English and Irish surname Birmingham, named after the city of Birmingham in the United Kingdom. Various spellings and derivations of this surname exist including Bermingham, Birmingam, Bermingam, and Bermyghan, among others.

In Ireland, this surname often traces back to the Hiberno-Norman family de Bermingham. The Irish-language version of the surname is de Bearnáin or Murchadha. There are also variations like Bereminham, Bremingham, Bermyghan, Bermygham, Bermyngam, Bermyngham, and Berminghamme found in older records.

Because of the way accents and pronunciation can change over time and between regions, it's also not uncommon for minor variations, misspellings and phonetic versions of the surname to arise, so further deviations may exist.

The various subsets or branches of the Birmingham family might also be considered 'variants' of the surname. For example, the Barons of Athenry and Tethmoy under the de Bermingham name.

Since surnames can also become first names over time, there may be people with the given name Birmingham or variants of it as well. In genealogy research, it helps to consider all possible spelling variants when investigating this surname.

Famous people with the name Birminghan

• Ace Birmingham, an American professional snowboarder.
• Tyler Birmingham, an American professional football player.
• Gordon Birmingham, an Australian lawyer and academic.
• Roy Birmingham, an American basketball player.
• Lambert Birmingham, an English Major-General.
• Robert Birmingham, an Irish-American Catholic priest.
• Charles Birmingham, an American songwriter and actor.
• Gavin Birmingham, an American professional golfer.
• Ryan Birmingham, an American professional basketball player.
• Luke Birmingham, an English professional football player.
• William Birmingham, an American motion picture producer and director.
• Emma Birmingham, an Irish actress.
• Richard Birmingham, an English professional rugby player.
• Tim Birmingham, an American professional baseball player.
• John Birmingham, an American actor and filmmaker.

Other surnames

Birmingham