Topham Family History

English (mainly northern especially Yorkshire): nickname from Middle English Toppan of uncertain meaning. The second element is perhaps Middle English pan(ne) ‘(crown of the) head’ while Top- could be derived from several different words. If from Middle English toppen ‘to shave (the head)’ then Toppan might have been a name for a barber who provided tonsures for the clergy.

Alternatively Top- might represent Middle English tup top(pe) ‘ram male sheep’ hence ‘ram-head’ or Middle English top(pe) Anglo-Norman French tupe ‘hair on the head tuft of hair forelock’ denoting someone with a distinctive head of hair. Variant of Topping.

In Lincolnshire, a variant of Tupholme, a habitational name from a place so named in Lincolnshire. The placename derives from the Old Norse personal name Tupi or a word of obscure origin from which Middle English tup ‘ram’ derives + Old Norse holmr ‘small island water meadow’.

In southern England the name is rare and may be from an unidentified placename there. The placename may derive from Old English topp ‘top hill top’ + hām ‘village homestead’ but this cannot be certain.